Into the Shadows
by AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: He was now free, away from anyone holding him back. But what was he to do when the entire country was against him? Would there be anything to do? His only choice would be to slip into the shadows, be unseen. Given his new found free will, Ward decided to do something for the better. But could he do it all from the shadows, where no one could know who he was? (Spoilers for S2.)
1. Chapter 1 (What's After Freedom?)

**Chapter One (What's After Freedom?)**

Ward ran as fast as he could away from the FBI caravan he had just escaped from. He was out in the middle of nowhere, with nowhere or no one to go to. He was alone.

But he still ran, before the FBI agents could catch up to him, before he could be caught and thrown in another cell. And his hand hurt like hell after breaking it to get out of handcuffs. But something didn't seem right. Why would Coulson have him thrown into handcuffs that obviously he could get out of? And then put him into close proximity of armed FBI agents he could clearly take down. Something wasn't right.

But he ignored that feeling and continued to run, the misfit boots on his feet chafing his skin. He hadn't worn shoes or even seen sunlight in over six months, and both were uncomfortable at the moment.

Where was he to go though? All he could see all around him was trees, and nothing else. He had no clue to where he was. And there was no clue to what state he was in, or even if he was still in the country. But he figured he was still in America since the FBI had picked him up.

Judging that he had good distance between himself and the agents, he stopped to catch a breath and rest his raw feet. He looked around at the foliage, trying to see if he could determine his basic location just from the trees. After a while, he figured he was on the East Coast, most likely the Northeast. But he really wasn't sure.

He started again at a slow pace. He had to find some shelter soon, for it was starting to get dark. And he was also hungry. But he was probably way out in the middle of nowhere with nothing around for miles.

And even if he found civilization, he wouldn't probably be able to get any form of help. A massive manhunt would commence after the FBI would announce his escape. Local authorities would be everywhere looking for him. He wasn't safe anywhere.

And he still continued on, hoping for the sign of a lone cabin in the foliage. A cabin that was maybe someone's second home and hopefully was still stocked with at least some supplies that he could use. He clung onto that small spark of hope that someone was foolish enough to build their precious, little cabin out here in the probable middle of nowhere.

And after another hour of tiring walking, that hope held out. He was actually surprised when he made out the faint outlines of a small cabin in the light of the dying sun. He quickened his pace to get to it, he couldn't believe it. Not at all.

But of course he found the door locked, but that wasn't a problem for a man of his skill set. He took a quick look in the windows, and with the dying light he saw that no one was there. He managed to get the door unlocked and made his way inside.

He found a light switch and turned the lights on. Blinking his eyes to adjust them to the harsh, sudden light, he looked around the small, one room cabin. A small bed lay in the corner. There was a couch and a TV. On the other side there was a small kitchen with a fridge and stove and some cabinets. A door on the far side of the room must've led to a bathroom he figured.

But something seemed familiar about this small cabin. He took another look and that's when it hit him. This was the very same cabin that he had built himself as a teenager when Garrett had thrown him into the woods for five years. But it looked as though someone had found it and renovated it to make it their getaway cabin for the weekend or something like that.

He couldn't believe it and he knew where he was. Massachusetts. Did that mean that Coulson's new base was located in the state? Or was it a state over? He didn't know and didn't care to find out. He was trying to forget his last experience with the team.

The glares seething with hate. The silence. And what Simmons had said to him. '_If I ever see you again, I'll kill you.' _He tried to shake all of this out of his head, trying to forget it.

Sighing, he slunk down onto the somewhat dusty couch. He figured that the cabin hadn't been abandoned for long, so there had to be at least some good supplies here he could use. Hopefully.

He rubbed his left hand, trying to make it stop hurting. But he figured that that wouldn't happen since it was most likely broken. He had to find someway to stabilize it before anything else could happen to it.

But what now? What was there to do? He had nowhere to go, he had no one to go to. He was a fugitive in a massive country, there was nowhere to go. Everyone hated him.

For some reason he gave a soft smile. He knew that he was somewhat a free man, even though the US government would soon be on his tail. What now? He finally had something that he had never had. His own free will.

As a child he never had it due to his parents and his older brother Christian, then it was Garrett for years on end, then he was at the mercy of Coulson and the team for six months.

And could he even call them the team anymore? He still cared for them, he still wanted to see them safe, but they hated him. He meant nothing to them. He was a monster, pretty much the Devil, in their eyes. There was never going back to them, probably. They wanted him dead. What was the use of him going to them when they would kill him on sight? There wasn't. Not now.

So what was there after freedom? Free will. He was now free to make whatever choice he wanted to. And what was that going to be exactly? He was going to try to do something good for a change, the best he could.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Trying something sort of new again! And of course it's Ward oriented! This is based off of the last episode 2x06. I'll try to finish this up before November 11th when the next episode airs, but no promises as this may be at least 20 chapters if it does well. But what will he do with this 'free will' he has? (This is based off of several posts on Tumblr that I got ideas from and hashed them together. And yes it's a redemptive fic.) Hope you enjoy! Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	2. Chapter 2 (Gone Without a Trace)

**Chapter Two (Gone Without a Trace)**

(The Next Day at SHIELD Base)

Coulson had been fearing this call ever since he watched the FBI caravan take Ward away just the day before. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen and he knew exactly what Talbot was going to say.

"Talbot, just say it." Coulson said as soon as he answered the video call. "I think I already know what you are going to say. Just get it over with."

Talbot gave a slight, grim smile, "Unfortunately, Coulson, it is what it is. Your little prisoner escaped FBI custody, he never made it to his brother's custody." he said.

Coulson's face fell, "But how? Those men were heavily armored, and he was handcuffed."

"Reports say he broke out of the handcuffs, attacked an agent, took his gun, and then incapacitated the others." Talbot replied. "He got out of the van and he ran. They do not know where he could be. The caravan was on a small road in the Massachusetts woods en route to Christian Ward's custody, so it's probable that he's still there.

But they've already issued a massive manhunt, considering how dangerous he is." Talbot continued. "Order to use force on sight to bring him down."

Coulson nodded slightly, "I'll have agents looking for him as well." he said.

"Coulson, you know that he will not be at the mercy of SHIELD anymore." Talbot stated. "He'll be at the sole mercy of the United States government."

"I know that." Coulson sighed. "But it doesn't hurt to help look. Ward's smart and skilled, he knows over a dozen ways to take down a group of armed men without getting hurt. It'll be hard to capture him again."

"Exactly." Talbot said. He looked at something to his right, "Well sorry Director, I would just love to keep this conversation going, but it seems that I have a visitor. I'll contact you if any developments come up in this case."

Coulson nodded, "Good."

The video chat ended and Coulson sighed, running his hands through his hair. A man once at the sole mercy of SHIELD was now the target of a massive FBI manhunt. A man that knew a thousand ways to take down a man. Coulson had no clue how this was all going to go down, and he didn't want to know. He feared for the worst.

* * *

><p>(Ward's Cabin)<p>

Ward allowed himself a slight smile, seeing that the cabin was well stocked with supplies. It must've been left alone for the week. There was a good bit of food in the kitchen, mens' clothes in a drawer that was pretty close to his size, and the bath was pretty well stocked with toiletries.

He figured he was well stocked enough for a while, but he knew that he would have to take off again soon to make sure that he wasn't captured. He tried to remember the exact locations of his dropboxes that held money and fake aliases he could use to keep himself hidden.

Figuring that he would leave to find one in a day or two, he went into the bathroom to take his first real shower in forever and to shave his mess of a beard off.

After about fifteen minutes he came back out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist and dug through the drawers of the 'bedroom' and found him some suitable clothes. He slipped on the jeans and black shirt he found and the boots that sat on the floor and went to the couch. He figured that he should see if he could find out the actual date somewhere on TV.

He clicked on the TV and frowned, stomach churning at who had popped up on a news report that was on. His brother Christian.

"_As revealed a few days ago by state senator Christian Ward," _the reporter said. "_His own younger brother, Grant, was reveal to be working for Hydra."_

Ward's stomach dropped. Christian had told the entire freakin' country about him and his mistake? The entire country knew about him.

"_But as of yesterday, while being transported by a FBI caravan,"_ the report continued. "_From SHIELD custody to the custody of the US government, Grant Ward escaped and is assumed to be hiding somewhere in the southern Massachusetts wilderness. The FBI has commenced a manhunt for him and all residents are advised to be on alert,"_

Ward abruptly clicked off the TV in rage. He couldn't believe that his son of a bitch brother had outed him to the entire country. Even more that Coulson had believed his crap lies. Over and over again, Ward had sworn to Coulson that he was telling the truth about Christian, but one story from him had Coulson believing the older brother.

Ward didn't like any of this. His brother was a corrupt, lying politician. He knew that Christian had revealed his position just to get a boost in the polls.

Now how was Ward going to do anything since the entire northwest was on alert for him? He wanted to do something good for a change. But he felt that he really couldn't do that now, seeing that there would be police everywhere looking for him.

And he had no clue what to do. He was in a position where he had nowhere or no one to turn to. He clenched his fist, trying to figure out what the hell he could do, if there was even anything.

But he knew that he wanted to see his bastard brother burn for everything.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Coulson is alerted about Ward's escape by Talbot and it's revealed that there's a manhunt going on for him. Later, Ward learns that his brother had publicly outed him and that there was a manhunt for him. What's a trapped man with nowhere to go to do? I don't know, you've got to figure that out. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! (And Happy Halloween if I don't get to update tomorrow since I'm helping out with my church's fall festival. I'm gonna be Dean Winchester even though I'm a girl.) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	3. Chapter 3 (Hail Hydra?)

**Chapter Three (Hail Hydra?)**

It was the next day when Ward decided to leave his cabin. He was hesitant to leave it though, but he knew that it wouldn't be safe to stay because there was no telling to where authorities could be. After some thought, he decided to find a small town nearby that he knew that held one of his dropboxes that he could get some money and a fake alias from.

He had found his location on a small laptop that was in the small cabin and found the small town of Booker's Edge about two miles away. And he knew that one of his dropboxes was there. He had placed it in such a small town to avoid being found. Hopefully it hadn't been tampered with, and he could get into the town without being recognized.

He had gotten rid of his mess of a beard and had cut his hair really short, so he looked a good bit different than he did in the pic that the local news had been spreading around.

Grabbing the supplies he had placed in a small bookbag he had found, he took one, last, hesitant glance at the small cabin and left for the small town. It would take about an hour at the most if he kept up a good pace and didn't stop.

It was early in the morning, so he thought that he would be at the town before lunchtime.

And he guessed right, he arrived in the small, rural Massachusetts town about an hour later, his feet starting to hurt. His dropbox was in the town's post office, he was hoping that he could get in and out without being seen.

And he was able to do just that. The post office was closed since it was a Sunday and it was only open to drop mail off and to get to the dropboxes and PO boxes. He slipped inside and retrieved the box's items. A fake ID labeled William Novak told him that that was what he was going to go by for a while. There was also about $500 in cash, just enough for him just to buy small amounts of food and supplies here and there.

Then he slipped back out of the post office and onto the town's main street. Booker's Edge was a small town, and small was an exaggeration. Its main street contained a few restaurants, a library, the post office, a small grocery store, a general store. A second street contained several houses, two schools, a church, a gas station, and a few more various stores. This was the kind of town that everyone knew each other personally. Ward knew that he didn't need to be here long.

If anyone asked, his cover would be that he was a traveller that happened to drive through for gas and some food. Of course that was all a lie. He didn't have a car, and he wasn't a traveller. He knew that he would have to pick up some kind of car from somewhere, he didn't need to be walking everywhere when he was the subject of a manhunt.

Slipping the fake ID and the cash in his pocket, Ward made his way to the small grocery store to pick up a few more supplies. Figuring since it was Sunday morning, majority of the town would be at the church. Hopefully the store would be mostly empty and he could get in and out just like the post office.

He went inside the store and was almost tempted to walk straight out. There were at least ten people in the store, a little too much for him considering his current situation. But he stayed and slipped down an aisle that no was on.

People that walked by glanced at him, seeing that he was a stranger. But no one said anything to him or really even took notice of him. He sighed, hoping that nothing would happen. He wanted to be in and out and then leave the town and find somewhere else to hide.

There were only a few items that he needed, only a few hygiene products and some food items, not much. They were some things that he didn't take from the cabin. And he knew that sooner or later he would have to pick up some clothes from somewhere, but he knew that this town wasn't the place. He would have to find somewhere else for that.

He was about to go onto another aisle when screaming, yelling, and gunfire echoed throughout the small space of the store.

"What the hell?" Ward muttered to himself, almost dropping the small shopping basket that he held. He looked up to the round aisle mirror that showed other aisles and in its reflection were armed men storming down the aisles.

He almost thought that it was the government and they had found him, but he knew that it was too fast for them to find him. This wasn't the FBI or local law enforcement. These armored men were forcing the innocent civilians to the ground, pointing their massive guns to their heads.

Ward froze as an armored man stormed the aisle he was on, and that's when he saw the Hydra symbol blazing on the man's shoulder.

So it was Hydra. But why would Hydra be attacking a grocery store in a practical speck in the middle of nowhere in Massachusetts? Ward knew that they couldn't possibly be here for him, so he figured that they were just continuing their reign of terror on innocent civilians. Or it was just a rouge Hydra group running through.

This wasn't Hydra's normal plans of action, Ward knew this. So this must've been a small group out for money or something under the name of Hydra. But that's all Ward had time to guess before the soldier came storming towards him, gun pointed towards him.

"Drop the basket and get on the ground now!" the soldier roared.

Ward dropped the basket, but he didn't drop to the ground. He raised his hands instead, "Look, I'm not looking for any trouble. I'm about to leave." he said.

"No one is leaving!" the soldier snapped.

"If it's money you want,"

"We don't want your damn money! Get on the ground or there will be a bullet shot straight through your head in a matter of seconds!"

"What do you want?" Ward asked coldly. "I know that you're Hydra. Why would Hydra be attacking a town in the middle of nowhere?"

"That's none of your business." the soldier snapped. "Only thing that matters is that there's something in this town we need." The soldier frowned, "And why do you look so familiar?" he asked.

Ward shook his head at the same time his stomach froze, "I don't know. You must have me mistaken me with someone else." he said.

The soldier's frown increased and after a while he spoke, "You're that guy from the news, aren't you?" he asked. "That ex-Hydra agent that fled from the FBI. That's you."

"I don't know what the hell you are talking about. You have me mistaken for someone else." Ward said.

"You're lying. I think I've also seen you at a base with some other guy." the soldier said. "An older guy, slightly wacko. Garrett? Was that his name?"

A muscle in Ward's face twitched, "I don't know what you are talking about."

The soldier smiled, "You're lying, I saw something in your face when I said something about that guy. You knew him. You're that convict dude."

"That's not me anymore." Ward muttered.

The soldier stepped closer, about two feet away from Ward, "What was that?" he growled.

Ward shot forward and grabbed the man's wrist with his left hand and the man's gun with his right, "I said that's not me anymore." he growled. He pulled the gun out of the soldier's hand and sent him to the ground.

The soldier shot up, but Ward sent the butt of the gun into his stomach and kicked him back to the ground. He sent a shot into the soldier's leg to make sure that he wouldn't get up anytime soon.

The soldier's face filled with pain, "What? How?" he muttered. "I need backup!" he screamed.

And Ward froze with the man's cry. He heard the storm of boots headed towards him and five other soldiers started to storm onto the aisle from both sides. Ward gulped, clutching the gun. He was outnumbered by the Hydra soldiers, and they were confident that Ward was going down. But they didn't know that Ward always had the upperhand. They wouldn't be hailing Hydra soon.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em>**I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So that happened. Ward gets a new alias and the town he's in gets attacked by Hydra. And he's attacked himself and then outnumbered. But he's dealt with a group of Hydra soldier before and brought them all down. He'll do it again, right? And will this attack set his mind on exactly what he's going to do? I'll definitely update tomorrow if I get a few more reviews with this chapter. (Maybe three? Please?) Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	4. Chapter 4 (Run, Run, Run)

**Chapter Four (Run, Run, Run)**

Bullets flew past Ward's head and one grazed his cheek. He winced, but ignored the pain and kicked the legs out from underneath one of the soldiers, sending him to the ground. He grabbed the soldier's gun as fast as he could and sent a few bullets into the guy's legs before dodging a swinging fist.

One soldier down, four to go. This was easier than he thought. He sent a punch into one soldier's jaw, a loud crack sounding. The soldier groaned and dropped his guard just long enough for Ward to send the butt of his stolen gun into the side of the man's head and knock him unconscious.

Three soldiers to go.

He thought that he definitely had the upperhand when he forgot about his broken hand that was wrapped up. One of the three remaining soldiers had swung his gun at Ward, striking his left hand. He cried out in pain and dropped his gun, then held onto his left hand with his right. That left him vulnerable.

Another soldier knocked him to the ground, knocking the breath out of him at the same time. Ward's hand still hurt like hell after that hit and he was too dazed to get up. The three, remaining soldiers surrounded him, ready to empty their guns' magazines into him. Ward held his breath, hearing the sirens of police cars in the distance. He was either going to die here or get arrested, he had to get out of this situation fast.

And that's when he saw it, the small, silver device hanging from the side of one of the soldiers' belts. He had seen it before. It was an EMP that affected humans in a few foot radius. Perfect for the type of situation where you were practically surrounded by enemies. But he didn't know whether the blast would kill the soldiers or not. But it was a Hydra device, it would probably kill them.

But he figured that that didn't matter in the heat of the moment. Something had to be done before he was killed and the town fell to the Hydra soldiers. He figured that a few people had already died. No else needed to die today.

Ward took a breath, ignored the burning pain in his hand and shot up, grabbing the small device from the soldier's belt. Before the three soldier could figure out what the hell was going on, Ward activated the device, stuck it to a soldier, and ran to the edge of the aisle, where the blast shouldn't affect him.

A bright, blue light sparked from the device, the crackling of electricity filling the store with the stench of ozone. The soldiers screamed in agony as the blast fried their bodies to a smelly crisp. The device died and the soldiers' fried bodies fell to the ground in a burnt heap. Ward gulped, he didn't think that the EMP would fry them that bad. He thought that it would stun them. Hydra must've upgraded them from the last time he had saw them.

The flash of police lights shone from outside of the store. Not good. Ward saw a back door in the back of the store and dashed to it. It wouldn't be good to be caught now. He ran out the emergency exit as soon as the police officers stormed the store.

Not stopping, he ran as fast as he could to where he had stored his bag in the woods nearby. There went getting supplies and hopefully a car. He couldn't stay in the town for much longer. Once the police officers found that the attackers were Hydra, government officials would be swarming the small town in no time. The FBI was certain, and there would probably be someone sent by Coulson that would immediately recognize him. He had to get away now.

He ran into the foliage and grabbed his bag from behind a bush and took off into the trees. This wasn't a good start to everything. He didn't think that anyone had seen him, and he didn't think that there were cameras in the store either. A town usually free of crime and way too trusting of anyone. Perhaps that would go in his favor.

* * *

><p>(At SHIELD Base a Short Time Later)<p>

May walked into Coulson's office, a grim look on her face.

Coulson stood from his desk and looked at the agent, "Melinda, what's the matter? What happened?" he asked.

"A group of Hydra soldiers attacked a small, rural town in Massachusetts for no apparent reason." she replied, approaching his desk. "There were six of them and they stormed a store. There were only about eleven or so people were in there. Everyone else was at the town's church for Sunday service, Hydra didn't approach there. Just the store and the area around it."

"How many people died?" Coulson asked.

"Two civilians were killed and another three injured. But what's more, every single Hydra soldier was injured or killed. Three of them were killed, well burned to death by the sounds of the reports. Fried by some electronic device." May replied.

"Dead? Who killed them?" Coulson asked. "I don't think that anyone in a small New England town would be able to take down six Hydra soldiers single-handedly."

"Witnesses don't really know what exactly happened." May said. "They claim that they saw one man take them all down and flee the scene. But I wouldn't trust any of their claims right now. They're all in shock. Phil, that's a town that rarely sees a single crime. The population is so low, everyone knows each other personally. This is a big shock to them. The one question is why would Hydra attack an innocent town."

Coulson took a breath and sighed, "It doesn't make any sense to me either." he said. "Probably to piss off the government and scare innocent civilians to death. Who do we have that can go there?" he asked.

"I can go." May said. "Skye, Triplett, and Hunter are busy with something else, remember?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah." Coulson mumbled. "Sorry, things keep slipping my mind. But good, you can go. See what you can find out."

May nodded slightly and was prepared to leave the office when Coulson spoke again.

"And May,"

"Yes, Phil?"

"And see if you can find out anything about this mysterious guy that took the soldiers down." Coulson stated. "If he managed to kill three Hydra soldiers and take down the other three, he's not normal. He needs to be found if he's able to."

May nodded and walked out the office.

Coulson sighed and ran his hands through his hair, sitting back down. Everything was falling down around him. His health. Ward escaping. Hydra now attacking innocent towns. Everything. He was just wondering what was next.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Ward has to flee the small town after the Hydra attack and Coulson is alerted about the attack. And May is sent to investigate. (Sorry for the horrible fight scene. I cannot write them for anything.) This is all gonna go well, right? Right? I don't know. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	5. Chapter 5 (A Message From Nowhere)

**Chapter Five (A Message From Nowhere)**

It wasn't until the next day when Ward arrived in another small town. It was about the size of Booker's Edge and about, he discovered, ten miles from it. Booker's Edge really had been out of the middle of nowhere by foot, but it didn't take long for the news of the Hydra attack to spread like wildfire to the local media.

When Ward checked in at the local motel under his new alias, that's all that the town was talking about. And that's what was all on TV too. He found that out once he got into his room and clicked on the TV.

He watched for a while, making sure that he didn't somehow end up on the footage. But he wasn't. And no one that the news interviewed seemed to be able to describe the 'mysterious savior' very well. Ward sighed, he seemed to be in the clear with this. For now.

He took a quick shower and put on clean clothes, courtesy of the cabin. But he seriously needed to grab clothes and supplies before he left the town. He just hoped that nothing else would happen.

Then he remembered something. He had forgotten all about it. Fiddling in his bag, Ward pulled out a small flash drive. He had snatched it from one of the soldiers during the fight in Booker's Edge yesterday. He didn't know what it contained, but he figured that it was important.

The motel room had a simple laptop for guests to use. It was nothing great, but Ward hoped that it could open whatever was contained on the drive. He slipped into the chair at the laptop's desk and plugged the drive into the side of the laptop.

After a few minutes, a program pulled up. A Hydra logo blazed in the window's corner. It was a Hydra database. Ward looked through various things, mostly things he couldn't access that were locked by a code. But one of the things he could access was mission data. He pulled the data up, and a map of the United States popped up with several markers indicating mission locations.

Ward looked at the locations and the mission data, and his stomach dropped. Most of the markers were small towns just like Booker's Edge, others were bigger towns and small cities. And the mission data showed plans for attacks just like Booker's Edge. Hydra was planning on attacking innocent towns just for nothing. Probably to strike fear in the hearts of civilians.

Ward didn't like this one bit. This wasn't Hydra, they were escalating to a new level. Decimating innocent towns that had nothing to do with their rise was a new thing for them. The whole idea make Ward sick.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in the desk chair. Thoughts flooded his head, and one, particular one stood out. Could he possibly _stop _some of these attacks? He knew that he couldn't possibly stop the bigger ones. But the smaller ones. Ones in the small, rural towns where a Hydra team of 6-10 soldiers would be. He knew that he could possibly stop that, but not the bigger ones.

What about those?

He gulped. He could possibly alert someone about them, someone that could stop the attacks before a lot of people could die. He didn't want to contact the FBI about it. One, he didn't know how to without blowing his cover. SHIELD could be a possibility. But how?

_**How?**_

He could upload the data into their databanks, along with a message. Skye had shown him a thing or two when his relationship with the team was intact. He knew that SHIELD would be able to track the message back to this location, but he would be long gone by then.

Once the data was in their system, Ward knew that an alert would be activated and they would see the message right away. And he knew that Coulson would take a message like this seriously.

But he hesitated. He felt that he was allying himself with SHIELD, and that was something he didn't want to do for a long while. But he figured he was just getting the information out to someone who could take down the larger attacks that he couldn't. He wasn't doing for Coulson, for Skye, or for SHIELD for that matter. He was doing it for the hundreds of innocent lives that were at risk with these plans.

He sighed. This was for the sake of the innocent. Not SHIELD. Not Hydra. Not himself. If he was wanting to do something for the better, he figured that this was about the best start he was going to get.

He returned to the laptop, and started the attempt at the anonymous message to SHIELD. He silently hoped that it would work.

* * *

><p>(Sometime Later, SHIELD Base.)<p>

Coulson frowned as the screen behind his desk lit up a bright red and Skye and Fitz came running into the room. "So you see this too, right?" he asked, standing to his feet as the two agents came up to him.

"Someone somehow got into our systems." Skye said.

The screen read '_Warning, unauthorized access to SHIELD systems.'._

"And, and, they sent a, uh, message." Fitz added.

Coulson frowned, "A message?" he asked. "Now who would hack into our systems and send a message of all things?"

Skye shook her head, "I don't know. But this is something that you would really want to see. I've already looked through it, and it's serious."

Coulson frowned even more and clicked a few buttons on the tablet on his desk and the message popped up on the big screen.

"Its a, map." Coulson said. "Why is there a map?" he asked, seeing several locations pinpointed on the map.

"They're apparently, ah, future attack locations for Hydra." Fitz replied. "Just like that one in Massachusetts yesterday."

"It's like Hydra is attacking small, innocent towns for no reason." Skye said.

Coulson gulped, "Hydra doesn't do anything for no reason. There has to be a reason. Where's the message that came along with this?" he asked.

Fitz took Coulson's tablet and pressed a button, a message popped up on the screen.

"_Hydra is going to attack innocent civilians. These are the future locations for several of them. Their reason for this is unknown. They need to be stopped before innocent lives are taken for no reason."_

The message ended there.

"Ok then." Coulson said. "So someone is being helpful?" he asked. "Who sent it?"

"I don't know." Skye said. "Came from an unknown source."

"See if you can trace this message back to its original location." Coulson ordered. "I now have some calls to make. This is a serious situation if Hydra is really planning on the slaughter of innocent civilians. This is something that the current SHIELD can't handle on its own."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em>**I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Ward makes his decision to try and stop several future Hydra attacks, and sends the information about the others straight to Coulson. Can Ward pull this off all by himself without getting caught? Can he? I hope so. (And eventually Ward finds something in the Hydra databanks that strikes right home with him. What is it? Can you guess?) Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	6. Chapter 6 (Things Left Unknown)

**Chapter Six (Things Left Unknown)**

(About a Week Later)

Ward took a breath and clutched the small handgun at his side, walking into the town. This was the supposed place of a Hydra attack, and Ward was going to stop it. In the past week, he had already stopped three of them, and all by himself. And he knew that a combination of SHIELD and military forces had taken down some of the bigger ones.

But that didn't mean that everyone was saved. Ward had seen a young child get shot in the head at point-blank range and bleed out on the cold, hard stone of a sidewalk. Hydra was ruthless, and wasn't showing any mercy towards anyone, regardless of age.

The civilian body count for the three attacks he had stopped was up to fifteen. Fifteen lives he could've saved, but was unable to. Fifteen lives that would still be alive if had done more. But he knew that nothing else could've been done. He was one man up against Hydra. One, lone man couldn't protect everyone. Lives would be lost in the battle for victory.

He gulped and slipped into the town's center, trying to be inconspicuous. His one gun hung by his side, hidden by his jacket. His eyes kept watch for the black Kevlar of Hydra soldiers. His ears were listening for the ricochet of gunfire.

Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Everyone was walking around the small town center like a normal Saturday afternoon. People were going from shop to shop, others were sitting in wrought-iron patio furniture eating various foods. Everything seemed to be normal to Ward.

And of course, he knew that he had thought that way too soon. He looked up as soon as he heard the bullets and the black Kevlar stormed into the town square. He reached for his own gun as the town's citizens dove and ran for cover.

Bodies were starting to fall, either dead or injured. The bodies of people who couldn't even begin to protect themselves from the likes of Hydra.

Ward ignored the screams and cries of the stampeding townspeople that ran past him, looking for shelter. He pulled out his gun, and stormed emotionlessly towards the seven Hydra agents.

They were all way more armed than him. He didn't have Kevlar on. He didn't have a protective helmet. He didn't have a big, fancy gun. He was a lone man armed only with a handgun. But he knew that he was going to take these bastards down.

He knew that he would make it out alive, give or take a few bullet wounds. The Hydra soldiers lacked one thing. Determination. They were set on one mode, kill. Ward had the determination to stop them, and that determination would be the winning factor in this.

Ward dodged gunfire and fired at the first soldier, hitting him in the arm. The soldier dropped his guard, trying to grab at his injured arm. Ward dodged the attacks of six other soldiers and lunged at the injured soldier, knocking him to the ground.

Wincing from the pain received from a blow to his jaw, Ward knocked the helmet off of the soldier and swung the side of his handgun into the soldier's temple, knocking him straight out.

Ward grabbed the unconscious soldier's gun as fast as he could, rolling to dodge the spray of gunfire. He jumped to his feet, clutching the Hydra gun, knuckles turning white.

The screams and cries of the frightened townspeople still filled the air, but the wail of sirens joined it. Ward gulped, firing at the soldiers. He had to end this soon, before the police showed up. He had to get out of here soon.

And all that stood between him and escape were six bloodthirsty Hydra soldiers, ready to kill him. He charged forward, hoping for the best.

* * *

><p>(A Few Hours Later.)<p>

Ward returned to his motel room in a town not too far from the town he was just in. His body hurt all over, and he was sure that he had gotten shot a few times. But despite all of this, he had somehow managed to take down all seven Hydra soldiers, by himself, before any cops had the chance to even storm the square. He had taken off into the nearby woods to a stolen car that he had hidden there right as the police had shown up. He had hopped into the car and had sped away to the motel he was checked in at about fifty miles away.

The only reason why he had taken so long getting back is that he had to hide off the side of the road for a while as a caravan of what had seemed to be government vehicles had sped by towards the town. And he didn't want to be caught by them. Not now.

It was pitch-dark when he got back to the motel, and he was thankful for that. No one would be able to see him go into his room beaten, bloodied, and his clothes slightly torn. He went straight in and cleaned up.

After he got out of the shower and put pants on, Ward saw the reflection of his shirtless torso in the small, bathroom mirror. He counted at least four new gashes that he figured that were from bullets, and one gash that was from a soldier's knife.

He went and pulled his small stash of medical supplies out of his bag and cleaned and bandaged up the gashes. Slipping a shirt on, he slid into the chair in front of the motel room's desk that had a small laptop on it.

He inserted the Hydra database drive into the side of the laptop and pulled up the database program. He looked through the missions that had been taken down either by him or a SHIELD/ US government combo, all labeled as failed missions.

He was about to see if Hydra was planning on attacking any other innocent town, but something caught his eyes. A file that was labeled 'Operation Overtake'. Frowning, he opened it to read it. And that's when his stomach felt as though it had turned to cold stone and had shattered into millions of small, irreparable shards.

He shook as he read the contents of the file. The operation was a plan to team up with an US senator to tear down SHIELD by having him shut SHIELD straight down and have anyone with ties to SHIELD captured and put on trial. One of the parts that made him sick was that plan called for a possible attack on the main SHIELD base. The very same base that his old team was at. But that wasn't the part that made him almost throw up.

He had to restrain himself from driving his fist straight into the laptop's small screen. Fear and rage fill raced through him like a wildfire. The senator that the operation was to be working with was no other than his own brother, Christian Ward.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. DUN, DUN, DUN. Didn't see that coming, did you? Well probably. It's shown that Ward has taken down three Hydra attacks, but a new operation is revealed. One that impacts his old team, one that his very own brother in involved with. What's going to happen? Lets just say that crap is gonna hit the fan. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	7. Chapter 7 (Sweet, Cold Revenge)

**Chapter Seven (Sweet, Cold Revenge.)**

(Two Days Later)

Ward was about ready to rip the TV in two. He may not be in Massachusetts anymore, but the local news was still spewing crap about his older brother. And the whole 'I can't believe my younger brother was Hydra' thing was still everywhere, despite it being over a week since Christian had outed Ward to the entire country.

He watched as his brother gave another short campaign speech. Also promising that Grant would be captured soon and for locals not to worry. No one had to worry about Ward anymore, he wouldn't hurt anyone unless it was Hydra, or someone threatening to bring him in.

His thoughts had become more rabid towards his brother since he discovered that Christian was working along side Hydra in some sort of operation to bring SHIELD down to the ground. An operation that would involve the death or capture of his old team. An operation that Ward would see be burned to the ground before anything could happen.

Ward didn't stand with anyone but himself. Not with Hydra. Not with SHIELD. But he didn't want to see anyone get hurt. Coulson and the team used to be his friends, and he didn't want to see anything happen to them. They may had treated him like crap ever since his betrayal, but Ward knew that he had deserved it. But that didn't mean that he should sit back and watch them meet their demise. He had to do something.

Ward gave a scathing glare back at the TV, right as the report on his brother was going off. He knew that Christian was a lying son of a bitch, but this was a new low for him. Ward didn't think that he would team up with Hydra. This added another level of evil to Christian. What would the country think if they knew that he was secretly working with Hydra?

They would hate him, of course. Christian would be booted out of office, and even arrested for working with the terrorist organization. And if his abusive nature came to light, that would just fuel the flame even more.

Ward knew that he could make this all come to light somehow. But he knew that he had to do something first. He was going to pay his bastard brother a visit.

* * *

><p>(SHIELD Base, Same Time)<p>

"Fitz, what are you doing?" Simmons asked, walking into the lab and over to Fitz who sat at a computer.

"I-I am trying to pinpoint the, the, ah," Fitz stammered.

"The location?"

"Yes! The location of a Hydra base." Fitz said. "Normally Skye would do this, but she gone on a, ah, mission. So Coulson wanted me to do this."

"Do you know how they're doing with those attack locations that Coulson received from that unknown source?" Simmons asked. "Have they taken them down?"

"I think Skye said that they've taken down a few of them." Fitz replied. "But that, uh, mystery guy has taken down four as well. All by himself too."

"I wonder who it is." Simmons said. "It's weird that it's just one, lone guy doing of all of this."

"I dunno either." Fitz stated. "Have they located, ah, Ward yet?" he asked.

Simmons shook her head, "Not yet. Coulson said it's like Ward just disappeared off of the face of the Earth. He's gone. Into the shadows."  
>"Shadows?"<p>

"That's what Coulson described it as. But no one can find any trace of him anywhere. Either he's dead or he's really good at hiding. But he'll be found in time. And be put back where he belongs, jail. But Hydra is the main priority at the moment I guess." Simmons said.

"And I'll get to that, if you'll stop, ah, talking." Fitz softly joked.

Simmons rolled her eyes, "Seriously? You're the one that ensued the conversation in the first place!"

"I was joking!"

"Nevermind, I've got to get back to looking at something Coulson wanted me to look at anyways." Simmons said. "I'll be back later. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>(Massachusetts, The Next Day)<p>

Senator Christian Ward stormed into his office in a heated argument with someone on the phone. "I don't care that you say that it can't be done! It needs to be! Try whatever you can to get it done!" he exclaimed.

"Look, I know that it's a hard thing to do." he said, his voice softer. "But it's an important matter. It has to be done."

Something in the corner of his office caught his eye, and his stomach dropped. "Look, something just, uh, came up." he said, his voice low. "I'll have to call you back later." He ended the call. Slipping his phone into his pocket, Christian approached what had caught his eyes, "Grant. What the hell are you doing here?"

Ward stepped out of the corner, "What, no 'how the hell are you here'?" he asked. "Just why?"

"Look, I knew that your ass would probably break out and run away like the scared little kid you always were." Christian hissed. "I just want to know why the hell are you here. As you saw, I'm extremely busy. Now get the hell out of my office before I have security storm in here and arrest your sorry, little ass."

A muscle twitched in Ward's face. "I'm through with taking orders from you, Christian." he hissed. "I took orders from you through all of my childhood, whether I liked it or not. Through the beatings and the verbal abuse, I followed."

"Like you followed that psychopath through Hydra?" Christian asked.

Ward's stomach dropped, "Do not mention Garrett." he hissed. "And I was never Hydra. Garrett only used Hydra to get what he wanted, and I followed him."

"You still allied yourselves with them."

"In way way. But isn't that what you're doing?"

Christian's face fell, "What?" he asked.

Ward stepped forward, "I know all about your 'alliance' with Hydra to take down SHIELD." he hissed.

"I am not," Christian began.

Ward grabbed his older brother by the collar of his suit, "Do. Not. Lie." he growled through clenched teeth. "I know that you're planning to take down SHIELD with the help of Hydra. And you're eventually going to target their base."

"And so what if I am?" Christian asked, not flinching from Ward's grip.

"You are not going to kill or capture them."

"Who? That sorry team of Coulson's?" Christian asked. "Last thing I remember was that he willingly gave you over to my custody." He got out of Ward's iron grip and shoved him. "They don't care about you. No one ever did. And no one ever will."

Ward flinched along with the shove, bad memories starting to resurface, "I don't care if no one ever likes me again." he muttered.

"What?"

"I don't ally myself with anyone but myself. But that doesn't mean I want them to be killed." Ward said, fist clenched in anger. "They used to be my teammates, my friends. It doesn't matter that they hate me. I don't want to see anyone die."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So that happened. Ward pays a visit to his brother to find out about this 'Hydra alliance' of his. It starts to get nasty. And it's going to get nasty in the next chapter. Lots of yelling and some violence. So be warned. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	8. Chapter 8 (Anger Takes Hold)

**Chapter Eight (Anger Takes Hold)**

Christian laughed, right in Ward's face, "You're going to protect them?" he asked. "You, of all people? That's one of the things you could never do, protect. You always needed the protection. You were always weak, you couldn't never protect yourself."

"Weak?!" Ward snapped. "How can you defend yourself against your own brother, or own own parents?! That's hard to do, because it affects you more than physically. It's psychological as well. When the people you thought that loved you beat you to a pulp, that's hard on you."

"No one ever loved you!" Christian snapped. "I never did care for you. And neither did our parents. They didn't care for any of us. They were too absorbed in themselves to pay attention to us."

"Then why did you turn to abusing your very own siblings?!" Ward growled, taking a step towards his brother. "What good did that do?!"  
>"Does that matter?! That's the past!"<br>"That's not in the damn past! I see it right now! You may not be physically beating the crap out of me, but have you heard the crap that's spewing out of your mouth?!"

"I don't care how it makes you feel." Christian said. "I never did. You're weak, insolent to me. You never meant anything to me. And you still don't. All I see is a weak, piece of crap brother who is currently running from the _US government of all people._ Why am I even still talking to you? I should've called security as soon as I saw you standing there."

Ward's hand clenched into a fist, and he swung it into his brother's face, almost hitting his eye. "I'm sick and tired of people treating me like I am the dirt beneath their feet!" he yelled. He grabbed Christian by the shirt collar again, "I'm not taking anymore of this crap from you. Not now." he hissed. "Now call off this operation with Hydra, or you'll regret it."

"And I'll regret what?" Christian asked, unwavering. "I know that you don't have the guts to do anything. Go ahead, I'll like to see you try. That won't change my mind. I'll still go ahead with the plan. The words of my brother won't stop something this big."

Ward threw Christian to the ground, "You better be glad that I don't have a gun with me." he hissed. "Because there would be a bullet through your pathetic brain."

"I'm not changing my mind." Christian hissed. "Nothing will change that. Especially you. Your words mean nothing to me."

A muscle twitched in Ward's face, something flaring up from deep within him. He swung his foot into his fallen brother's side, right into the gut.

Christian coughed, all of his air knocked out of him.

Ward kicked him again, but harder this time.

Christian now coughed up blood. His held up his hands, "Please, Grant! Stop!" he cried.

"Why should I?!" Ward roared. "You never stopped!"  
>"But this was never your sorry ass! You never were strong enough to beat up others!" Christian exclaimed through bouts of coughing.<p>

Ward stopped. He blinked, realizing that Christian's statement was just slightly true. He was never the one to fight back. Why now? Why here?

Christian turned to face the ground and dry-heaved from the previous kick. By the time he got himself together and managed to get to his feet, he saw that Ward was gone. He had run off.

He wiped the blood off of his mouth and straightened his suit, trying to make it look like that he wasn't just beat up if anyone came into the room. But his right eye was starting to swell where Ward had punched it.

He scoffed. His brother's attempt wouldn't change anything. Perhaps he should move up the attack a few days and surprise everyone.

* * *

><p>Ward was starting to succumb to a panic attack by the time he had gotten back to his hidden car not too far from his brother's office. He slid to the ground right next to the car, his breath starting to come in ragged gasps. He buried his face in his hands, trying to block everything else out.<p>

He hadn't let himself get like that in a long time. Not since the Berserker incident last year. Perhaps it was some of the still-hidden rage from that staff that had taken him over.

And despite everything that had happened, Christian wouldn't budge on his plan to destroy SHIELD along side Hydra. Nothing would.

Ward's head started to hurt as his body started to shake, the hurtful words that Christian had said to him starting to flow back into his mind. No, he couldn't be like this. Not now. There was way too much to do for him to succumb to a panic attack. He was stronger than this.

Using the car for support, Ward hauled himself to his feet. No. Perhaps Christian was right. He was weak. He was crap. Hell, he still hated himself. But that wouldn't stop him from trying to save the people he had once called friends.

Christian was right that the team didn't care for him. No one did. Ward was alone in this world with no one to turn to. Nowhere to go. But he could still try for the better. It may not change anything for him, but he didn't care. As long as they were safe. As long as no one died. As long as he got to see his brother be thrown into prison where he rightfully belonged.

Ward took a deep breath, trying to get his heart and respiration rate back to normal. He needed to calm down before whatever had taken him over earlier took hold again.

The anger. The rage. The hate felt towards Christian for years on end, all bottled up and released at once. Ward was surprised that he stopped before he ended up killing Christian. All of that anger and rage was poisonous for him. Especially now when he was trying to do something good for a change.

He took another breath, and got into the car and drove off. He felt like everything was falling down around him once again. But he tried to ignore it, he had other things to tend to.

* * *

><p>(An Hour Later)<p>

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Whitehall. It's Senator Ward."

"_What's the matter?"_

Christian took a breath, holding an ice pack to his swollen eye, "I think that we need to move the attack date on the SHIELD base up a few days."

"_Why? What happened?"_

"Someone knows about the Operation." Christian said. "We need to attack while we can, before this person can alert Coulson and his agents."

"_Who knows about it?" _Whitehall asked.

"My brother."

"_You mean Grant Ward? Last time I checked, he was on the run from both SHIELD and the government. Why would he contact Coulson at this point?"_

"That doesn't seem to bother him at this point." Christian replied. "Something about 'not wanting to see them die.'."

"_I'll see what I can do. I'll contact you again when I have a new date set. Should be soon."_

"Good." Christian hung up. He slunk into his chair. His brother wouldn't stop his plan. Grant would be be dead before he could stop this plan.

* * *

><p>(SHIELD Base)<p>

"How many of those attacks were stopped, Coulson?" Skye asked, looking at Coulson who was sitting at his desk.

"So far five by us. And four by this mystery man." Coulson replied.

"And we still don't know who?"

"Nope. And don't have a clue to who could be this skilled. You have to be incredibly skilled to single handedly take down several Hydra soldiers at once. I can't think of someone right now." Coulson responded.

"How are we gonna find this guy?"

"Intercept him at another planned Hydra attack." Coulson said. "Get there before he can. We take down Hydra and bring this mystery guy in."

"Where's the next one?" Skye asked.

"Nowhere yet." Coulson said. "But we're keeping watch."

"What about Ward?"

"Him too. There's too many things going on at once." Coulson grumbled.

But Coulson didn't know that something else was about to be thrown on them soon. Very soon at that. He didn't know that the next Hydra attack was on his very own base. And it was in about three days at that. Three days until the end. Three days until Hydra came at them full force.

Three days was all Ward had to figure out that Hydra was going to attack soon. Three days to intercept them and save the ones he once called friends. Three days until the end.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So all of that happened. I'm not even gonna explain. Three days til the end. That's all I'm going to say. (And if you can tell, this story is only gonna be under twenty chapters or so. Not very long.) Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	9. Chapter 9 (Time is Running Out)

**Chapter Nine (Time is Running Out)**

(The Next Day)

Ward had eventually made his way to another motel, the anger from the previous day still slowly leaving him. His mind was still clouded from the rage, nothing could pass his mind straight. He checked into a room, going into it in a fog of emotions.

After all that he had done, Christian still wouldn't change his mind with the Operation. The planned attack was still going to commence. But now Ward was afraid for when. Knowing his bastard brother, Christian would move it up just to mess with him.

Right after getting cleaned up, Ward went straight to his bag and pull out a laptop (stolen from another motel) and the Hydra flash drive. He was afraid for what he would see, knowing that he was the reason for the new date. He knew that there was a new date for the attack, no matter what.

And of course, he was right. Operation Overtake was originally scheduled for next week, its new date read two days from now.

Two days. That's all the time Ward had to figure out how in the world he would even get onto the base to warn them. He knew where the base was since it was in the Hydra database now. But he still didn't know. Should he just send another message and have them prepared? Then he could just show up in the middle of the fighting to help. Hell, he didn't know.

He knew either way, he would eventually be arrested. But he didn't care, as long as no one died. Frustration growing, Ward slammed his fist down onto the bedspread. What the hell was he supposed to do when he had no damn clue what to do? He for sure didn't know.

Forgetting the fact that he had just checked into the motel not too long ago, but he threw everything back into his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. Ward stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Jumping into 'his' car, Ward sped off, hoping that he would make it in time to protect the ones he once called friends.

Only two things were on his mind now. To protect the team no matter what. And to make sure that his brother would burn and rot in hell for everything. Ward was going to make sure that would happen.

* * *

><p>(Sometime Later, SHIELD Base.)<p>

Skye sat typing away at her computer as Hunter and Triplett came into the common room.

"What are you typing?" Hunter asked. "You sure are flying on that thing."

Skye closed her laptop just as Hunter tried to look, "None of your business." she said. "What are you two doing in here anyway?"

"We have free time, Skye." Hunter said. "Triplett suggested that me and him should play the Xbox."

"Well it's all yours. I'm busy."

Triplett raised an eyebrow as Skye reopened her laptop, "What are you so busy on anyways? Is it something secret for Coulson?" he asked.

Skye's face fell, the computer screen lighting up a bright red, "Well this, apparently." she said, turning the computer to where Triplett and Hunter could see it.

The screen said security breach along with a SHIELD logo.

"Didn't it do that when that weird message came through like last week?" Hunter said. "The one with the Hydra attacks information."

"It did." Skye said, typing away. She frowned even more as a message popped up on the screen. "Damn, this isn't good. Read this."

The message read, '_They're coming. Full force. Be prepared. Within the next two days. Defend yourselves.'_

"Uh, who's 'they'?" Triplett asked.

"Hydra?" Hunter said. "That seems like the only possibility. Who sent it? Was it that last guy?"

"Probably." Skye said. "But we need to show Coulson and May this. If Hydra is really going to attack within the next two days, we need to get ready."

The three agents rushed out of the room, down the hallway, and to Coulson's office. Coulson was already standing, the screen in his office lit up with the same security breach warning.

"Skye, please tell me that you've figured out what this is." Coulson said.

"It's a message." Skye said. "And we think it's from the same guy as last time." She handed Coulson her laptop.

He frowned as he read it. "Dammit." he spat. "Who's attacking?" he asked with urgency.

"We think Hydra probably." Hunter said. "Like I said, seems like the only possibility right now considering everything."

"So within the next two days." Coulson muttered. "We can't really leave. We'll have to activate what defences we have and get ready to fight at any moment." he said. "That's all that I can think of. Go find the others and tell them. Hunter, you find Morse. Skye, Triplett, you guys find Fitzsimmons and Mack and tell them. I'll tell May. We'll all meet up in the common room in a few."

"Why do I have to talk to the demonic hell-beast?" Hunter asked.

"Does that really matter?" Skye asked.

"Maybe."

"Hunter, don't do this now." Coulson snapped. "This isn't the time. No playing around. Do you all understand?" he asked.

They all nodded.

"If Hydra is really going to attack us here, we need to be ready. If we're not, there's a possibility that we might just all be killed."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for the kind of crappy chapter, I'm exhausted and thought that writing a chapter now was a good idea. Probably not. But the team learns of the attack and Ward is on his way to try and stop the attack. Good, right? Not so much. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	10. Chapter 10 (Make Haste, For Death)

**Chapter Ten (Make Haste, For Death)**

(The Next Day)

The first shots came as a surprise to the few agents that populated the small SHIELD base. Even though they had been forewarned, that still didn't prepare them for the storm of Hydra agents that flowed into the base. There weren't many, probably at least twenty five of them. Hydra thought that they had the upperhand in this one.

The base spiraled into alarm. Coulson started to bark out orders to his small team of agents. Mack, armed with an ICER, led Fitzsimmons to safety since the three of them really weren't the fighting kind. The remaining agents split into two groups. Skye went with Triplett and Hunter while Bobbi was with May and Coulson.

They were all armed with ICERs. Coulson didn't want to try to kill any of the soldier if they didn't have to, he figured that they held valuable information. "Shoot them only with the ICERs if you can." Coulson ordered. "We can probably get information out of them if we win this battle. Stay close and take out whoever you see. We need to win this, we cannot die today."

"Oh that's great, death." Hunter mumbled and Bobbi rolled her eyes.

"And there's no time for complaining." Coulson snapped. "Complaining may get you killed in this case."

Hunter shut his mouth.

"Now, please stick together, no matter what." Coulson continued, as he heard the thundering footsteps of the storming Hydra soldier headed towards them. "Mack is with Fitzsimmons in hiding, along with a few other lab agents. I have other field agents helping us out here. Hopefully we can win this. Do not underestimate these soldiers. They are ruthless, they'll slaughter you if they have the chance. Keep up your guard at all times. No matter what."

All of the agents nodded in response. And the two groups went their separate ways.

The group consisting of Skye, Hunter, and Triplett took the left section of the base, ICERs clutched at their sides.

"Why would Hydra even be attacking now?" Hunter whispered to Skye and Triplett.

"I don't know, Hunter." Skye replied. "We're just luck that we knew of an attack on the base so we were slightly prepared. Now shut your mouth before soldiers find us and shoot us."

"Fine." Hunter mumbled. "I'll stay quiet."

"Good." Triplett commented.

The three agents thought that they were doing fine, since there were no signs of any soldiers in their section, but they thought too soon. All of the lights in the base suddenly shut off, plunging the agents into darkness.

"Dammit!" Skye cussed. "They cut the power!"

"Why would they cut the power?" Hunter asked.

"To take down security systems, most likely. So they can get through the base easier without any doors locking on them or anything like that." Triplett replied. "They know their stuff."

"Well, what do we do," Hunter began, but was cut off as a bullet zipped by his ear. He dove to the ground, looking up to see four Hydra soldiers storming their way.

"Get up!" Skye hissed, her ICER trained on the oncoming soldiers.

Hunter jumped up, pointing his own ICER as well at the black Kevlar.

The three agents stood side-by-side, arming themselves for the oncoming soldiers. And they started to fire, blue ICER bullets zipping through the air along with normal, deadly bullets.

* * *

><p>(Outside of The Base)<p>

Ward grimaced as he heard the alarm abruptly shut off in the base. The echo of gunfire filled his ears. He stood on a small hill right outside of the SHIELD base, looking down at the various buildings. Numerous Hydra soldiers peppered the grounds.

He frowned, this was much worse than he originally thought. He couldn't count how many soldiers were down there. At least thirty, and that was outside of the buildings. No telling how many more were inside.

No telling how many more were storming their way towards Coulson and the team. Soldiers Ward could take down easily. Hydra soldiers were skilled, but he was even more skilled than them. That's what gave him the title as a specialist when he was a SHIELD agent.

He gripped his handgun, another gun at his side along with a knife. That's all he had to defend himself against the heavily-armored Hydra soldiers. But that would do.

And there was no time for him to be just standing on this hill, looking down at the base. Ward dashed off, down towards the base. Once he got to the brick buildings, he hid around corners, away from any soldiers.

He looked around a corner and saw two soldiers idly standing there. He fired two, quick shots and the soldiers fell to the ground. Then he dashed off again, trying to find the main building.

It took him a good while of running, dodging, and firing, but Ward found the main base building. He easily slipped inside, since the base's defences were down due to a power outage.

Of course he didn't know the layout of the building since the last time he was here he was locked up in Vault D. And it was a giant risk being here. The team would either let him help, or shoot him dead on sight. Ward took a breath, preparing for whatever would happen.

He crept down the hallways, taking down three other soldiers with ease. He smiled, this was easy. Then his smiled faltered, this was almost too easy. Something didn't seem right.

And that's when he heard the scream. The bone-chilling scream that he immediately knew. Skye. Skye was in danger.

Forgetting the danger he faced. Forgetting the possibility of being shot and killed by Hydra or being shot and killed by the ones he once called friends, Ward took off towards the sound of the scream. He clutched his handgun as he ran so tight, his knuckles started to turn white with the pressure.

And he heard more yelling and gunfire.

"Skye?! Where's Skye?!" someone exclaimed, which Ward figured was Triplett.

"I don't know! We got separated in the gunfire!" a British voice that Ward didn't recognize exclaimed.

He frowned as he ran, Skye got separated from other agents was in possible danger. Once again, another scream rang out.

Ward's pace quickened, turning down a hallway. And there was Skye, cornered by two Hydra soldiers, eyes wide in fear and not seeing Ward.

Ward ran forward, shooting at the two soldiers, "Skye!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So there you go, cliffhanger. And a Skyeward meeting for the first time in like over two weeks since his escape next chapter, if they survive. Of course they will survive. There is gonna be at the most five or six more chapters with this. This isn't a long story. But still gonna try and make it as good as I can with it's shortness! Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	11. Chapter 11 (Listen, I've Changed)

**Chapter Eleven (Listen, I've Changed)**

Skye trembled as the two Hydra soldiers fell dead to the floor. She trembled even more when she saw who had shot them though. "Ward." she muttered. "Why the hell are you here?" she asked. "How the hell are you here?"

Ward tried to suppress a frown, "Skye, please." he begged. "This isn't the time for this. Not now."

Skye gulped and pointed her gun at Ward, taking a step forward, "Yes it is." she growled. "Those were the only two soldiers in this sector. We have time."

"No, we don't." Ward calmly stated. "There are many more to come after those two. This isn't the time. We will get killed."

"And why do you care?" Skye asked, hatred in her voice. "I don't think that you ever did."

A vein throbbed in Ward's neck, "Skye, I always have, even through that massive mistake."

"Mistake?!" Skye exclaimed. "That was no damn mistake! That was your whole life! Unless you're implying that your life is a mistake, which it is."

"Skye, stop this senseless crap, please." Ward stated. "This isn't the time and place."

"Again, why do you care?" Skye asked. "Why are you here? Why did you kill those soldiers?"

"It was to protect you!" Ward exclaimed. "This is all to protect not just you, but the team."

"It's not your team anymore! Once you turned your back on us, you were taken out of the team for good." Skye said angrily. "And you'll never be back."

"I know that! But that doesn't mean that I want to see you dead! I know that I will probably never be back with you guys, but I still want to see you safe. I don't want to see any of you die." Ward said.

Skye almost snorted, "Sure you do. Why would a monster like you care for us?" she asked.

"I am not a monster." Ward said through clenched teeth. "I've changed. I'm not the monster I used to be. That's not me anymore."

"Yeah? Prove it."

"The man."

Skye frowned, "What man?" she asked.

"The one taking down Hydra attacks. The one that Coulson couldn't ever track down. The one that send the information about this attack and the other bigger attacks on innocents." Ward replied.

"Yeah, what about him? And how the hell do you know about that? No one other than SHIELD and the government knows about that."

"I know about it because it was me."

Skye's face dropped, "That, that was you?" she asked. "There's no damn way that was you. You couldn't be that man that Coulson called 'The Shadow'."

Ward looked to the side and sighed, looking back at Skye, "Skye, that was me. The entire time. Who else could you think of that was that skilled and could send stuff to SHIELD like that?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"And think of the timing, Skye." Ward said. "Don't you think that it was strange that this 'Shadow' appeared soon after my escape?"

Skye didn't respond.

"See, Skye? That proves that I've changed. I've saved four towns, Skye. I've saved countless lives. I know there were people that could've been saved, but I can't save everyone. I'm only human." Ward said. "That more than proves that I've changed. I just want to see you safe."

"I don't believe it." Skye stated, gun still trained on Ward.

"Skye, please, just this once. Trust me." Ward said. "We can't be bickering now. We'll be killed. Come with me and I'll take you back to whoever you were with, and I'll leave. I'll leave you alone and I won't come back. I just don't want you by yourself when there are dozens of Hydra soldiers out there." He held up his hands, showing that he wasn't armed, his weapons at his side. "Please. Just this once."

Skye took a breath, her mind running a thousand miles an hour. She hesitated before answering, "Okay, just this once. Take me to Triplett and Hunter and you get the hell out of here. And don't try anything funny, or there will be a bullet lodged in your brain in a split-second."

"Fine, but I promise that I will not do anything to hurt you. I will only protect you." Ward said.

Skye rolled her eyes and took off in front of Ward.

Ward followed Skye down the hallway, unsure of where the hell they were going. He didn't know the layout of the base. Only the layout of Vault D. He was guessing Skye knew where Triplett and whoever this Hunter guy was were at.

They walked for a few minutes, but they were stopped dead in their tracks by the force of menacing black Kevlar. Five Hydra soldiers had surrounded them, leaving the two with nowhere to go.

Skye and Ward both withdrew their guns, backing up towards each other.

"Ward?" Skye asked, her voice lowered as the soldiers stepped forward.

"Yeah?"

"If you've really changed, prove it." she stated. "Get us both out of here alive, and I might start to believe your story. Show that you've changed. Protect the both of us."

* * *

><p>(Elsewhere in the Base.)<p>

Fitzsimmons hid along with Mack and a few other lab agents in the massive lab storage area. The ricochet of gunfire echoed throughout the area.

"How much longer is this gonna last?" Fitz asked quietly.

"No telling." Mack replied. "We don't know how many are still out there."

"And be quiet, Fitz." Simmons added. "We don't want to be found."

Several lab agents murmured in agreement.

"Sorry." Fitz muttered.

Then the door of the storage area creaked open, Fitzsimmons and the lab agents stepped back while Mack raised his ICER. They were thinking that Hydra was going to storm in, but they sighed to see who it was. Bobbi.

"Oh thank God, there you are." she said, sheathing her batons. "Coulson had no clue to where you were."

"We're right here." Fitz said.

"H-how much longer is this gonna take?" Simmons asked.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to hold on for a little while longer." Bobbi replied. "This part of the base has been cleared, but there are many more Hydra asses to deal with."

"Damn." Mack muttered. "Figure out why they're here?" he asked.

"No." Bobbi said sadly. "We still don't know. And we're not going to be in the clear for a long time. You've got to hold out here until Hydra's all gone. I've got to be on my way." She left and shut the door behind her.

Fitzsimmons and Mack exchanged nervous glances. They knew that they were probably going to die.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Skyeward meetup! And then they're corned by Hydra, Skye giving Ward a chance to show that he's really changed. Can they survive. And what about Fitzsimmons and Mack? The others? I don't know. Stay tuned! Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	12. Chapter 12 (Louder Than Thunder)

**Chapter Twelve (Louder Than Thunder)**

Ward was the one to take the first shot, hitting a Hydra soldier straight in his gun arm. The soldier dropped his gun, and Ward shot forward, dodging the gunfire of the four other soldiers. He grimaced as he felt a bullet graze his shoulder, but he ignored it and slammed into the soldier.

The soldier fell to the ground and Ward heard another soldier fall unconscious from Skye's ICER. Ward dug the tip of his gun into the soldier's neck, and the soldier attempted to flip Ward over. But Ward kept his hold, moved his gun to the soldier's shoulder and fired three bullets. The soldier screamed and gripped his shoulder.

Ward jumped off of the soldier and stood to his feet. The soldier screamed until he fell into unconsciousness from the pain and rapid blood loss. Ward looked to Skye, who had a cut on her cheek and a blossoming bruise on her forehead. Then he looked to the soldiers around him. Two lay unconscious and the other three were advancing on them.

"Stop standing there and shoot!" Skye exclaimed, pointing her ICER towards the oncoming Hydra soldiers. "Standing there isn't going to do anything!"

Ward took a breath, and ran towards another soldier, knocking the gun out of the man's hand before he had the chance to shoot. He grabbed the soldier by the wrist and sent him to the ground. The soldier grabbed Ward's feet and pulled him down with him.

Ward crashed down to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete. He felt the skin rip open on his forehead, warm blood starting to ooze out. The soldier got on top of him. He raised his fist, prepared to strike Ward in the temple. But a high-pitched shot sounded and the soldier fell over onto his back, unconscious.

Looking over to Skye from his position on the ground, Ward gave her a smiled. But Skye ignored him and started to fire at the other two soldiers. Ward jumped to his feet, ignoring the blood that was running down his face, and engaged one of the two remaining soldiers.

He sent a fist into the soldier's helmet, knocking it clean off. The soldier's green eyes blazed with anger and he sent his gun into Ward's gut. Ward bent over, coughing from the impact of the gun. The soldier was about to sent his gun into Ward's back, but Ward shot out, digging his gun into the man's stomach and letting out three shots. The Hydra soldier fell over, his blood pooling onto the ground.

Ward turned to face the final soldier, the bastard advancing on Skye. Both Ward and Skye aimed at the soldier. Both an ICER bullet and a normal bullet were sent into the soldier. And he fell to the ground.

All five soldiers were neutralized.

Skye sheathed her ICER, "Well, that went fast." she said.

"You were here." Ward said. "It wouldn't went that fast if it was just me. You've got a lot stronger."

Skye almost blushed, but she kept a hardened face, "Well, now that that's over. Take me to Triplett and Hunter. That's what you need to do." she said.

"Fine." Ward said. "Lead the way."

Skye started down the hall, a few feet in front of Ward. But that's when Ward heard it, the unmistakable sound of a handgun being loaded. Someone was behind them. He glanced out of the corner of his eye. There he was, a soldier with a gun, aimed straight at Skye. Not Ward, Skye.

Everything in Ward's mind became blank as he shot forward towards Skye, "Skye, get down!" he roared. He threw himself on top of Skye just as three bullets were fired from the soldier's gun and all three ripped through his back.

Ward fell to the ground and onto his stomach, blood oozing out of his back. Skye slowly sat up, shaking.

"G-Grant?" she muttered. She looked up, seeing that the soldier was approaching, gun aimed at her. She was too scared to move. She closed her eyes, bracing for the death that would come.

But it never came. A shot sounded, but it didn't come from the soldier's gun, but Ward's. Skye opened her eyes, seeing Ward struggling to hold himself up, holding his gun out towards the now-fallen soldier.

Ward coughed and fell back to the ground. Skye scampered over to him.

"Grant, please. Please don't die." she pleaded. She tried her best to lift the man up and set him up against the wall where he wouldn't drown in his own blood. He was heavy, but she was able to do it.

Ward's eyes slowly opened and he gave a soft smile, "Skye, you're safe." he whispered.

Tears started to form in Skye's eyes, "But you're not, you idiot."

"That doesn't matter." Ward said softly, his voice starting to grow weak. "As long as you're safe. As long as you're all safe."

His eyes started to close, but Skye shook him to keep him awake, "Don't close your eyes! Stay with me!" she pleaded.

"But I'm so… Tired… Everything hurts…"

"Don't give up now! This isn't the way to prove that you've changed!" Skye stated. "Stay with me!"

"Don't think that I… I can't do that much longer…" His eyes started to close again. "There's so much… So much pain."

Tears were streaming down Skye's face, "No, don't do this, Grant. You're not going to die. Not today. Stay with me. Please."  
>"At least you're all safe… And my brother… He will be happy that he was partly responsible… For my death." Ward muttered, growing weaker.<p>

Skye's stomach froze, "What? Your brother?" she asked. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He… He planned this attack… Worked alongside Hydra to bring SHIELD down… That's all he ever wanted to see. And, and he only got my death."

"You're not going to die." Skye said. "And why did he work alongside Hydra?"

Ward weakly dug through his pocket and pulled out the Hydra flashdrive, and placed it softly in Skye's hand, "Found this on a soldier a few weeks ago… Gives access to a Hydra database. Where I got all the info on the attacks, this one too. Give it to Coulson. It's better…. In his hands."

Ward coughed again, this time blood came up, "Tell them what I've done here so it doesn't die in vain…" he whispered.

"You're not going to die, Grant. I've told you. Hang on, I'm going to get you help."

"That's not going to work… They rather see me dead than alive. They'll be glad that I'm dying."

"No, they won't. And I will beg them to get you the medical help." Skye said, a tremor in her voice. "You're not going to die."

"I wish it were that easy…. But I'm so tired… Just let me close my eyes…"

Skye shook Ward again to keep him from closing his eyes, "No, do not close your eyes, please." she cried. "I'm going to get you some help." She stood to her feet. "Hold on."

She turned around, but Ward's weak, dying voice stopped her, "Skye, I won't make it… You don't even have to try to get me help. I won't last that long." Another blood-filled cough rattled his body.

"You're going to make it. And I'm going to find someone to get you." Skye said, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Let me just say… One thing, before you go." Ward softly pleaded. "Something that I never got the chance to say."

"W-What?"

"I've always loved you Skye… Even through the past several months when everyone wanted me to burn in hell… And that's looks like where I'm going."

"You are not going to die, Grant. And you are not going to hell." Skye cried. "You're not going to die…"

"And you still care for me…" Ward whispered.

Skye took a breath, "Honestly, I always did, that's why I was so angry at you when you betrayed us. I, I never did stop loving you, and I was too afraid to admit it. And now, you're dying because I was going to get shot. Should've been me."

Ward gave a soft, weak smile, "You've already been the one to be dying. And it's better me than you." Another cough. "I'm sorry Skye… Just let me… Let me go…"

"Grant, you're going to survive this. You are not going to die." Skye cried.

No response. Ward's eyes were closed.

"Grant?" Skye whispered. She ran over to his fallen body and dropped to her knees. She shook his body, no response. "Grant?" she cried. "No, not now. You can't be dead."

Ward had wanted to prove that he had changed by protecting the ones that had once cared for him, and he possibly gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect the girl that he loved the most.

And Skye let her emotions take her away, letting herself succumb to her tears over the fallen man, silently hoping that someone would show up soon. She didn't want to leave his side. Her tears silently mixed with his blood.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"I don't think that I deserve it, selflessness. Find your way into my heart. All stars could be brighter. All hearts could be warmer. What would it take for things to be quiet, quiet like the snow? Are we meant to be empty handed? I know, I could, I could be better."<em>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em>** I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Lyrics at the end are from 'Louder Than Thunder' by The Devil Wears Prada. So all that happened. It's a big one, but don't get mad at me yet. There's still three or four chapters to go. And does anyone actually die in my fics? No. But BIG Skyeward chapter. Skye admits that she was still in love with him despite everything. What will happen next? Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	13. Chapter 13 (Let Us Burn)

**Chapter Thirteen (Let Us Burn)**

May stopped suddenly in her tracks, looking all around.

Coulson and Bobbi stopped as well, looking at the agent. "May, what's wrong?" Coulson asked. "Is something the matter?"

"I hear… Crying." May said.

"Crying?" Bobbi asked.

May narrowed her eyes, "And it sounds familiar. It sounds like… Skye…" she trailed off.

"Skye?" Coulson asked. "Why would Skye be crying?"  
>"I don't know, but something must've happened." May replied.<p>

"Then we need to find her." Bobbi said.

Coulson started forward, "Then we don't need to wait. There's no telling what could've happened to her, Triplett, or Hunter. We need to hurry."

The three agents picked up their pace, following the sounds of Skye's cries. With each step, the cries grew louder and louder. Turn after turn, step after step, her crying grew louder.

Then they came up upon Skye, in a dead end hallway, leaning over a fallen body. The three agents stopped, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Skye?" Coulson asked.

Skye looked up, her eyes blood-red and tears streaming down her face, "C-Coulson." she weakly stammered, getting up and running over into the older man's arms.

Coulson wrapped her arms around the trembling agent, "Skye, what the hell happened?" he asked.

Skye pointed a shaky finger at the fallen body, "H-He, he, I think he's dead." she whimpered.

"Skye, who's 'he'?" Coulson asked.

May and Bobbi walked over to the fallen body. May froze and her face paled. She looked back to Coulson, "Phil, it's Ward." she stated.

Coulson's face paled, "Wait, Ward?" he asked. "How? Skye, what happened?"

"I-I don't know." Skye stammered. "He came out of nowhere, protected me from two Hydra soldiers. I told him to take me back to Triplett and Hunter and to leave. We got, we got ambushed. Five soldiers. We took them down. But another came out of nowhere. The bullets were meant for me. Grant, he jumped on top of me. The bullets ripped through his back." she tried to explain through her tears.

Coulson didn't respond, but he sent a glance to May and Bobbi.

May bent down and felt for a pulse, "He's still alive, but barely. His heartbeat is extremely weak. And by the looks of it, he won't last much longer."

"Coulson, please." Skye pleaded. "I know you hate him, but please, get him some help. He doesn't deserve to die."

"Tell me one reason why." Coulson said coldly. "He's a traitor. He ran from us. Why should he be saved?"

"He's changed!" Skye cried. "Don't let a simple hatred of him make him die! Coulson, he protected me! I could be dead right now and he could be long gone. But he stayed, he recieved the bullets meant for me."

Coulson didn't respond.

"Coulson, Grant told me, he said that he was the one that took down those Hydra attacks. He was the one that sent the information about the other attacks and this one. He's probably the reason why we're alive."

Coulson's face fell and he looked to Ward, "He's the one, that, that did all that?" he asked. "He's the Shadow? There's no way that a man like him did all of that."

"Coulson, think. Don't you think that it was odd that the Shadow appeared soon after his escape?" Skye asked. "And that the Shadow was extremely skilled. He's changed. Maybe he wanted to show that he was better than the person he was when we last saw him."

"And are you sure that's what he said?" Coulson asked.

Skye nodded, tears still streaming, "Coulson, please. We can deal with this later. Please stop stalling. Don't let him die now. Don't let him burn like this. He wants to do better, don't let this end in death." she pleaded.

Coulson took a long breath and took another look at the bloodied, dying man leaning unconscious against the brick wall and then back to Skye, "Fine. But once he's awake, there are many questions to be asked and answered."

"Coulson, how the hell do we get him to the infirmary?" Bobbi asked. "Especially with Hydra still here."

"There aren't many Hydra soldiers left." May said. "We'll still have to make a dash for it though."

"What the bloody hell is going on?"

The four agents turned to see Triplett and Hunter walk up.

"You're just in time." Coulson said. "Help me get him to the infirmary, now." he ordered.

"Son of a bitch, is that who I think it is?" Triplett asked.

"Yes, it's Ward. And he's about to be dead." Coulson said. "No but, get him, now."

Triplett and Hunter exchanged nervous looks at each other, wonder why they were helping a wanted fugitive.

"Now."

Coulson, Triplett, and Hunter then carefully proceeded to lift Ward up, trying to disturb his still-bleeding wounds. They winced as Ward's warm blood stained their clothes.

"May, Skye, Morse, you are to clear the way of any remaining soldiers." Coulson ordered. "I can't believe that we're doing this, but we've got to get him to the infirmary, now. Before he dies."

* * *

><p>Everything hurt. Everything burned. It felt as though he was trapped in a shadow of agony. His mind was jumbled. He heard noises. Was it talking?<p>

He could barely see, black spots consumed his vision. Who was that talking?

"_What the hell happened? Is that Ward?"_

Simmons?

"_Yes, he got shot! Please do something! It doesnt matter what he's done, he needs help."_

Skye?

"_I can't do it myself, but the medical agents, they can."_

He felt himself be lifted onto what could've been a gurney.

"_Please, do something." _

"_We'll try our best."_

That must've been a medical agent.

More pain, more blurs. He must've been being rushed into an impromptu operating room. Again, he was lifted onto a table. His shirt was cut off.

Yelling. Clamoring. Blood. Pain. That's all he felt.

The mask came down over his mouth and nose and he felt himself slip into a heavy, dark sleep.

Peace.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Coulson hesitantly agrees to get Ward helped and Ward is rushed into emergency surgery at the base. Will he pull through? Will he? Hopefully. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	14. Chapter 14 (Dangerous)

**Chapter Fourteen (Dangerous)**

* * *

><p>"<em>I know I won't change, I have tried. Was feeling so caged, hands tied. I can't find anything feeling so right, it's blinding hope. The reaper is close, seen his smile. A matter of time, can't deny. I won't turn around, around, around. This destiny's mine."<em>

* * *

><p>Skye sat numbly outside of the infirmary room where Ward was having his emergency operation to remove the bullets from his body and to save his life. She sat slumped over on the floor, staring blankly at the stone-cold, concrete floor. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts.<p>

Fitz came up and sat down beside her, "Hey." he said quietly.

Skye didn't respond, she only kept looking at the floor.

"Hey, don't let this get to you." Fitz continued. "Ward may not be the best guy in the world, but he's strong. A few bullets isn't going to stop him. He'll survive."

Skye weakly looked up and over to the young engineer, "Do you really think so?" she asked quietly, voice weak from crying.

Fitz sighed, "I may not like him, but he doesn't deserve to die like this."

"You tried to kill him before."

Fitz froze, "And I was, ah, stupid for that." he said. "I let anger get the best of me. I shouldn't have done that."

"Fitz, why do you think that he's done all of this?" Skye asked. "Not just the Hydra takedown part, but the saving my life part."

Fitz shrugged slightly, "I don't know, honestly." he said. "I guess, maybe, he just wanted to show that he's, uh, better than who he used to be. I don't know. That's something that is hard to figure out I guess."

Skye let her head drop again and she continued to stare at the ground. Fitz wanted to say something to cheer her up, but he had no clue what to say.

"He'll be okay." Fitz muttered.

He continued to sit with Skye for what seemed like hours on end, which was in reality about an hour and a half, until Simmons came out of the infirmary. She had been watching over the operation.

Both Skye and Fitz looked up and stood.

"H-How is he?" Skye asked.

Simmons smiled, "He's fine. He lost a lot of blood, and he'll have to receive some more transfusions to regain the lost blood. The surgeons were able to extract the bullets and successfully repair the damaged tissues and organs. But there's no telling when he will wake up though, only time will tell."

"He's… Alive…" Skye started to cry happy tears.

"Where's Coulson?" Simmons asked. "He'll want to know."

"He's with the others still scouring the base for remaining Hydra soldiers." Fitz said. "He did say to let him know immediately of any news. I can go tell him and get the others here. They'll probably want to be here."

Simmons nodded, "Go do that, Fitz." she said. "I know that they will want to know something. I know that they would be here if it wasn't for the remaining soldiers on the grounds."

Fitz nodded and ran off.

Simmons looked at Skye's red, tear-stained face, "Skye, you need to rest." she said. "You've had a long day."

"But Grant," Skye began.

"He'll be fine. Go rest. He'll be in a medical room when you wake up. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. He'll be fine."

* * *

><p>"<em>The countdown had begun, the walls are falling down. My life is on the line. The freedom is mine.."<em>

* * *

><p>He heard Skye cry out in the darkness, "Grant! No! You can't die!"<p>

Die? Was he dying? That can't be? How? When? He looked all around, but he couldn't see a thing. Everything was black. All darkness.

He started to run towards the sound of Skye's cries, hoping that he could find her. Suddenly, there she was, kneeling in the dark, the only thing visible in the shadows. She was kneeling over a fallen body, crying and sobbing violently. Ward frowned. Was that him? How? When?

He approached Skye and himself carefully, unsure of what was happening. Skye looked up as he approached. She slowly stood, the second Ward dissolving into thin-air.

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't betray us." she hissed coldly.

Ward frowned, "W-What?" he asked. Then he felt the pain, unbearable pain, shooting through his back. He fell to the darkened ground. He reached for his back. Blood, he felt blood. He looked to his hand, blood covered it. Shot. He had been shot.

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't stab us in the back." Skye hissed again, approaching the now-fallen Ward.

He scrambled back, "No, please, I've changed."

"No you haven't. You never will." Coulson appeared out of the darkness.

"Once a monster, always a monster." Simmons.

"Never should've trusted you." Triplett.

"I thought we were friends, and we will never be." Fitz.

"Knew it." May.

"Why did you come back?" Morse, Hunter, and Mack.

Ward shook his head, "Wanted… To protect you.

"We don't need help from the likes of you." Skye hissed. "Run. Run away and never come back. We don't need you ever again. Why don't you just die?"

Ward shook his head, scared and confused.

"Die."

And just like that, they were all gone into the darkness, leaving Ward by himself again. A bright light shone, blinding him. He tried to shield himself from it, but it grew brighter and brighter, warmer and warmer. Then it overtook him.

He finally felt it. Peace. Calm. Free.

* * *

><p>"<em>It's dangerous to sacrifice. It makes your blood run to throw the dice. It's dangerous, it's what you like. It's what you'll die for to live this life. We're going on and we'll never stop. We're going on 'til worlds collide. It's dangerous, so dangerous. Dangerous."<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em> **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Song is 'Dangerous' by Within Temptation. Using songs for the last few chapters to up the mood or whatnot. So Ward survives surgery and it's only a matter of time before he wakes up. And Ward has a nightmare in his near-death sleep. Next chapter will be a few day time jump, you know why. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	15. Chapter 15 (A Demon's Fate)

**Chapter Fifteen (A Demon's Fate)**

* * *

><p>"<em>When the shadows remain in the light of day. On the wings of darkness he'll retaliate. He'll be falling from grace. 'Till the end of his days, from the ashes of hate. It's a cruel demon's fate. On the wings of darkness, he's returned to stay. There will be no escape, 'cause he's fallen far from grace."<em>

* * *

><p>(Four Days Later)<p>

Ward groaned, peeling his eyes open to harsh, white light. He hurt all over. He struggled to sit up in the bed he was in. Looking down, he saw that he was in a hospital bed. Hospital bed? Why was he in one? What happened? Everything was a blur to him.

"Grant."

His heart skipped a beat at the sound of the small, tired-sounding voice. Ward looked to his right, seeing Skye standing in front of a chair, glee filling her exhausted-looking eyes. "Skye?" he asked. "Where am I? What happened?"

Skye blinked, "Y-You don't remember?" she asked, worried.

"I-I remember we were fighting Hydra. The soldiers were down. Another one showed up. I remember a shot. Nothing else. It's all black."

"Grant, you were shot. Three times. You almost died. You had to go into emergency surgery here to remove the bullets and to repair what was damaged. You almost bled out. You could've died." Skye said.

"Died?"

"Grant, you jumped on top of me. The bullets were meant for me. You protected me from what could've been my death. You almost died for me." Skye said with a slight, caring, thankful smile.

"I did?" Ward asked.

Skye only nodded.

Ward shook his head and looked to the IV in his hand, "I may be in bad shape, but at least you're safe." he said. "That's all that matters. Is Hydra is here?" he asked.

"Grant, that was four days ago." Skye said. "You've been out for four days. Hydra's been removed from the base. Coulson said if it wasn't for you sending the information, we would've been blindsided and potentially killed."

"So you told him."

"Telling him was the only way to get him to get you the medical attention you needed."

"He wouldn't help me, of course." Ward mumbled.

"But I did."

Ward looked to see Coulson coming in, all alone. "Sir."

Coulson looked at Skye, "Skye, go get some rest. You've been in here constantly for the past four days. Get some sleep. He's awake. He'll be fine. I need to ask him a few questions in private anyways."

Skye hesitated, but nodded and left, leaving the two in private.

Coulson looked back to Ward, "I did hesitate to get you the care you needed, and you probably know why. It took Skye telling me what you have done to convince me. I'm sorry for that."

Ward didn't respond.

"Continuing. So you're the Shadow."

"If that's what you're calling it, then yes." Ward replied.

"I had a feeling that it was you." Coulson said.

"What?"

"I had this feeling that it was you." Coulson repeated. "It just felt strange that everything started happening soon after you escaped. But it still shocked me when Skye told me what you had said before you had passed out. One question. Why do all of this? Why now?" he asked.

"I just wanted to do something better." Ward said, scratching at his IV. "Wanted to be someone better. I ran into the first group of Hydra attackers in that small town in Massachusetts. Found the drive and the information about the next attacks. Didn't want innocent people dying. I wanted to intervene.

And I knew that there were attacks I couldn't stop, so I sent that information to you hoping that you could stop them somehow. And then I found the information about the attack on this base. I wanted to send you a warning, so you could be prepared. And I didn't want to sit back and do nothing, I wanted to help. So that's why I was here." he explained.

Coulson gave a slight nod, unsure of what exactly to say. "So, who are you now?" he asked. "That you've decided to 'do good'?"

"I don't know." Ward said. "Honestly. I haven't had a chance to figure that out yet."

"And you'll have time to figure that out." Coulson said. "You'll be in this one room a least another week recovering while I figure out what the hell to do with you."

"Great." Ward mumbled.

"And I better tell Simmons that you're up. She'll need to check to see how you are doing and to see if the wounds are healing right." Coulson said. "You are not going anywhere in the time being. You are technically back in SHIELD custody, mostly because the FBI doesn't know where you are at the moment." he continued. "And the fact that the one that was overseeing your transfer in now in jail."

Ward frowned, "Wait, Christian's in jail?" he asked.

Coulson nodded, "Let's just say that the information on the drive gave us enough reason why to have him arrested. Gave the information to Talbot and he had him arrested for aiding the enemy."

Ward smiled just a little bit.

"Oh and Ward, he confessed to us what he had done to you in the past. I-I didn't realize that's what you went through. And I didn't believe you when you told me. I'm sorry, I shouldn't released you into his custody."  
>"See why I ran away?" Ward asked. "I didn't want to go back to him. Never. He would beat me until I would break. Torture me. Torture our younger brother, our sister. He thought that it was fun to do so. He would even make me do some of the torture. He was that bad. Still don't know how he manage to become a senator."<p>

"I was ignorant to listen because you were a traitor." Coulson said. "Wouldn't believe anything you said."

"And that's what I'll always be, a traitor." Ward said, looking down.

"We'll see about that." Coulson said, starting to leave the room. "Get rest. Simmons will be here soon to check up on you. And think on that one question. Who are you now?"

* * *

><p>"<em>What have you done? Is this what you wanted? What have you become? His soul's not forsaken. You're walking alone, from heaven into hell."<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em> **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Song is 'A Demon's Fate' by Within Temptation. So Ward is awake and Coulson asks him some serious questions. And Christian is now in jail. So there's that. Probably about three chapters left. And I'm thinking of writing a sequel for this based off an easter egg in the second to last chapter. Keep an eye out for it. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	16. Chapter 16 (One Day Too Late)

**Chapter Sixteen (One Day Too Late)**

* * *

><p>"<em>Tick, tock hear my life pass by. I can't erase and I can't rewind. Of all of the things I regret the most I do… Wish I'd spent more time with you."<em>

* * *

><p>(A Week and a Half Later)<p>

"Nevermind Fitz, he's still jumpy around you. And I would still be if you did that to me."

"I've told him countless times that I was sorry. Can we just move on to something else?"

"Sure. But you need to try and talk to him sometime. I'll make sure he stays."

"Fine."

Ward stood in his temporary quarters talking to Skye. He had been let of of the infirmary by Simmons a few days ago since his wounds were pretty much healed and he was much better. And Coulson didn't bother with throwing him back into the Vault. Coulson had assigned Ward a small room for him to temporarily stay in while he figured out what to do with him.

"So," Skye began. "What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"I don't know. I've got to see what Coulson is going to do with me first. I'm still a fugitive with the FBI too." Ward replied.

"Coulson has to be foolish to lock you up again or turn you over to the authorities." Skye said.

"I don't know. He's changed over the past months. I have no clue what he'll do know." Ward stated.

"I know he has." Skye said. "But I don't think that he'll lock you up again. You did too much for us for him to turn around and lock you up again."

"You're talking about me, right?"

Ward and Skye turned to see Coulson walking into the room.

"You better not be talking about me." Coulson said. He turned to Skye, "Ward and I need to talk in private."

"Fine." Skye said, rolling her eyes. "I'll get out." She walked out of the room leaving the two to talk.

"Sir," Ward began. "What is this about?"

"Your fate."  
>"My… Fate?"<p>

"Well, in a way." Coulson said. "I've been doing some heavy thinking about this and have been talking to the others about this since you woke up. Hell, even a little bit before that."

"Talking about what?" Ward asked. "What is this about?"

"I've, we've, been considering after what took place two weeks ago, letting you come back to the team. With restrictions, of course." Coulson replied.

"Restrictions?"

"You'll have a tracking bracelet. No solo missions, there will have to be at least two other people with you. And you'll be watched carefully for a long time. Of course the others were hesitant, but Skye convinced them. I do see that you've changed and you want to do something for the better. And you've proved that.

This is the least I can do as a thank you for basically saving us, for saving Skye. If you didn't send us that information, we would've been unprepared and would've been killed. And if it wasn't for you, those Hydra attacks would've killed a lot of people. You saved a lot of people. That's something that someone with bad intentions wouldn't do."

"Sir, I promise I have no more bad intentions." Ward said.

"And I see that. And I'm offering you a place back on the team to prove just that." Coulson stated. "What do you say? Is it a deal?" he asked.

Ward sighed, running a hand through his short hair, "Honestly sir, I don't know. It's a lot to take in at once. I don't know what to say. Would you let me think about it and I can tell you tomorrow?" he asked.

Coulson nodded, "Sure. And, I wouldn't blame you if you left." he said. "After everything. And you're strong enough to live on your own. I knew that this was something you've been really wanting for the past several months."

"I know, it's just that I don't know what to say." Ward responed. "I just don't know."

"Well, think about it overnight and you can tell me tomorrow." Coulson said, turning to go out of the room. "And it doesn't matter what your decision is. As long as it doesn't involve betraying anyone else."

"It won't, sir. I promise."

* * *

><p>"<em>Here's my chance for a new beginning. I saved the best for a better ending. And in the end I'll make it up to you, you'll see. You'll get the very best of me."<em>

* * *

><p>(The Next Day, About 11 AM.)<p>

Coulson knocked on the open door to Ward's room, walking in, "Ward, are you in here?" he called out. "Did you decide yet?"

He stopped just inside of the room and looked around. The bed was made, everything was clean. But there was no Ward in sight. Coulson frowned as he saw a piece of paper laying on the made-up bed sheets.

He walked over and picked it up. He recognized Ward's scrawl. He frowned as he read over it.

'_Coulson, Skye, whoever is reading this, you probably saw this. I left during the night, and you know that I'm not that great at goodbyes. _

_And I figured that this would be easier. I know that rejoining the team was one of the things I wanted the most in the past several months, but right now it isn't the best thing for me. When I escaped, I was hoping to figure out who I really was, but as you know, I never really had the chance to because of Hydra and all._

_ I'll come back eventually, but now isn't the greatest time to. Maybe I'll actually figure out who I am without anyone holding me back this time. I know that the FBI is still after me, but I can make it. I'll miss you guys. Okay, maybe not Hunter, he's an ass. But I'll be back eventually. And tell Skye that I love her. -Ward'_

Coulson sighed and folded up the letter and stuck it in his pocket. He figured that Ward wouldn't stick around for long once he was healed up. There was too much tension between him and the team to make him feel welcome. And Ward finally had what he always wanted, freedom. Well kind of since the FBI was still on his tail, but Coulson could take care of that.

He walked out of the room to go tell the team of Ward's decision. Hopefully they would take it well. And hopefully Ward could make it on his own for however long he decided to be alone.

* * *

><p>"<em>Your time is running out. You're never gonna get it back. Most the most of every moment. Stop saving the best for last."<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em>**I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Song is 'One Day Too Late' by Skillet. So Coulson decides to let Ward back on the team, with restrictions, but Ward leaves during the night deciding that coming back to the team wasn't the best thing for him at the moment. But he'll come back eventually, but when? Two more chapters left! Look for the sequel Easter egg in the next chapter! Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	17. Chapter 17 (Start Again)

**Chapter Seventeen (Start Again)**

* * *

><p>"<em>Emptiness inside me, wonder if you see. It's my mistake and it's hurting me. i known where we've been. How did we get so far? What if, what if we start again?"<em>

* * *

><p>"He left?!" Skye exclaimed.<p>

"He called me a what?!" Hunter exclaimed, even louder than Skye.

"Coulson, what do you mean that Ward left?" Fitz asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"Fitz is right." Simmons agreed.

Coulson showed them the note once more, "It's here in his handwriting." he said. "He said that right now wasn't the best time for him to return to the team."

"And you're just letting him go off by himself?" Mack asked.

"Yeah. Are you sure that's the greatest thing?" Bobbi asked.

"I trust his judgement." Coulson said. "And after everything that happened, I don't think he'll return to his former self. He wants to make a change. And he did. He saved us, he saved Skye, he saved the lives of countless innocents. Someone that's evil doesn't do a deed like that."

"Coulson, are you sure?" May asked. "This is big letting him go off on his own like this."

"Plus, he's still wanted by the FBI even if his brother's now in jail." Triplett added in. "How's that going to work out?" he asked.

"I'll find a way." Coulson said. "But still, I trust his judgement. I don't think that he'll return to his old ways. He's basically starting a new life. He has no one holding him back now. No one controlling him. It will be nice to see who he turns out to be in the end."

"Did he say when he'll come back?" Skye asked sadly.

Coulson shook his head, "Nope. He only said that he'll come back eventually. And that could be years from now."

"So we won't possibly see him for years?" Skye asked. "That's not going to happen."

"I know he'll come back." Coulson said. "And I'll have my ways of keeping an eye on him for a while to make sure he isn't double-crossing us again."

"You're going to spy on him?" Fitz asked.

"No, I'm not saying,"

"You're gonna spy on him." Hunter said. "I thought that you said he's free to do whatever he wants."

"Well not whatever. He's free, as long as he doesn't start committing murder." May said.

"He's not going to do that." Skye said.

"Let's hope so." Simmons commented.

"But he'll be fine." Coulson said. "He's starting a new life. Let's just see what he turns out to be."

"But still, he called me a what?!" Hunter complained again.

"He called you an ass." Bobbi responded.

"Why?!"

"Because you are one!"

"See, this is why we divorced!"

"Break it up you two!" Coulson exclaimed. "Take it somewhere else! Now isn't the time for your arguing!"

"Fine." They both grumbled.

Skye rolled her eyes, "Let's get some lunch. It's like twelve and I didn't eat breakfast."

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm lost inside the pain I feel without you. I can't stop holding on, I need you with me. I'm trapped inside the pain. Can we ever start again? I'm lost without you."<em>

* * *

><p>(About a Week Later, Elsewhere.)<p>

Ward settled into a motel room in West Virginia. He had been moving since he left the team a week ago, going from town to town. Hydra's small town attacks had ceased and Ward had basically been sightseeing. There wasn't much for him to do.

But what was he to do now? He was free. Nothing holding him back, no one telling him what to do. He could make his own choices, choose his own fate. What was he to do now?

Ward sighed and laid down on the lumpy motel bed. He didn't know what to do, he figured he should just see where his travels led him. He closed his eyes, but that's when his phone rang from his pocket.

He shot up. Who would be calling him? Who had this number? This was a phone he had since a little before being hospitalized at the SHIELD base. Unless… He had a feeling who it was. Somehow either Skye or Coulson.

He dug it out and answered the call from the untraceable number, "Hello?"

"_Ward?"_

It was Coulson.

"Coulson? Sir? What's going on?"

"_Nothing, I'm just calling to tell you that Grant Ward is dead."_

Ward's stomach dropped, "What?"

"_The FBI came and asked questions. I told them that you had died in the Hydra attack on the base and that we had already taken care of your body. You're now a true free man, Ward. There is no one chasing you anymore. We're not even looking for you. You're free to do whatever, as long as you don't murder anyone."_

"Sir, I promise I won't kill anyone. But what do I say? Thank you. For giving me a chance."

"_There's no need to be thanking me. You're free to find yourself. Travel the country. Take down evil. Hell, I don't care as long as you don't get on any authorities' radar."_

"I won't sir."

"_Good. I won't be calling you again unless it's completely necessary. Or if it's Skye. She misses you, you know. We all do."_

"I know, I'm not that great at goodbyes. Thought that leaving during the night would be the best option."

"_They took it pretty well, but they were still shocked. And Hunter was mad that you called him an ass."_

"It's true."

"_Take care, Ward. Don't do anything stupid."_

"I won't sir. Thank you, for everything."

"_No problem."_

The call ended.

Ward sighed and put the phone down. He was now officially free. No one was going to be hunting him. Grant Ward was technically dead. He was free to become whoever he wanted to. He was free to find who he really was. whether that be hero or villain.

And he figured hero, since he already had his stint as a villain. The only thing now was to see what kind of hero he would become.

* * *

><p>"<em>One more try, can we start again? In my eyes, can you forgive me now? Can we start again (one more try)? Can we start again? Can we start again (can you forgive me)?"<em>

* * *

><p>(Six Months Later, SHIELD Base.)<p>

Coulson sighed, placing the papers he held in his hand down on his desk as Skye came in the room, "Skye, what is it?" he asked.

"That encrypted data you wanted is ready to be read or whatever." she said. "Got it decrypted." She handed him a flash drive. "Hydra's about to be in big trouble."

"Thank you, Skye." Coulson said. "Where's the others?"

"Fitzsimmons is with Mack in the lab. May, I don't know. Hunter and Bobbi are bickering once again. Triplett's in the gym. And we're here." Skye replied.

"Nothing ever changes, does it?" Coulson asked.

"Sometimes it does." Skye said. She glanced at the papers on Coulson's desk. One read, "_Subject: 'Taskmaster', motive unknown. Seems to be working for good, but take all cautions if you happen to come into contact with subject. Subject extremely skilled and dangerous.'_

"What's that?" Skye asked, pointing at the paper. "Who's Taskmaster?"

"Oh, nobody." Coulson said. "Some vigilante guy Talbot and I have been keeping an eye on. He's been taking down small Hydra factions, but he's hurt a few police officers, government officials, and SHIELD agents in the process. Nobody's been killed though."

"Oh, okay." Skye turned her attention back to the drive, "So, what the drive about?" she asked.

"More Hydra info on bases and attacks if my guesses are correct." Coulson said. "But we've got to see. Hydra is in for a big one."

* * *

><p>"<em>Can we start again?"<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em> **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Song is 'Start Again' by Red. One more chapter! Coulson tells the team that Ward left, only to call him a week later saying that he is pretty much free to become whoever he desires. Catch the Easter egg at the end? Hints at a sequel if you want one. Keep reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	18. Chapter 18 (Carry On My Wayward Son)

**Chapter Eighteen (Carry On My Wayward Son)**

* * *

><p>"<em>Once I rose above the noise and confusion just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion. I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high."<em>

* * *

><p>(About Three and a Half Years Later.)<p>

Ward sighed as he approached the public entrance of the newly rebuilt Triskelion. Coulson had managed to rebuild SHIELD in three and a half years to its somewhat former glory. He had the Triskelion rebuilt and made it slightly more public where an average person could come in, but without heavy security checks first of course.

It had been 3.5 years since Ward had last saw the team. There could be new members by now, or they could possibly not even be together anymore at this point, but he doubted that. It had been a long time, but he did promise to come back. He had been busy the past few years.

He went in the doors and straight to the desk agent, figuring he couldn't get past her.

The agent looked up and gave a slight smile to Ward, "Hi. How may I help you today?" she asked.

"Ah, I'm here to see the Director." Ward said.

The agent frowned, "Sorry, but you can't do that without a specific appointment." she said. "Do you have one?"

Ward shook his head, "No."

"Then you can't see him."

"Just tell him that there's an old friend here to see him. He'll know who I am." Ward said. "I promise."

The agent raised an eyebrow, "Sure, but I'm not promising anything." She picked up her phone and dialed to Coulson's office. After a few rings she spoke, "Yes, Director? This is Agent Williams at the entrance desk. There's someone here to see you."

"He won't give a name, but he says he's an old friend."

"You're looking at the feed?"

"Oh, you do know him?"

"You'll be right down? Okay."

She hung up and looked back at Ward, "Seems that you're telling the truth, the Director is on his way. You must be someone really important for him to come down here."

"Something like that." Ward replied.

"You can stand over there." Williams said, pointing to a particular spot. "He'll be here in a moment."

Ward nodded and went over to the spot. He was there for about five minutes when he saw the familiar appearance of Coulson and Skye appear in the atrium, both with smiles on their faces. They both came over to Ward.

Coulson reached out a hand towards Ward, "So, you did keep your promise." he said, shaking Ward's hand. "You did come back."

Skye gave Ward a massive hug, "Give or take almost four years." she laughed.

"I was busy." Ward said, peeling Skye off of him.

"Doing what?" Skye asked.

"Travelling."

Coulson laughed and motioned for Ward and Skye to follow him, "Don't just stand there, we'll go up to the team quarters."

"Team quarters?" Ward asked.

"New part of the Triskelion built for the team. No one else. Me, Skye, May, Fitzsimmons, Triplett, Mack, Hunter, and Morse. All of us. Nothing more, nothing else. Just us." Coulson explained.

"So you kept them together." Ward commented.

"Yes. And we're going to see them."

* * *

><p>"<em>Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man. Though my mind could think I still was a mad man. I hear the voices when I'm dreaming. And I can hear them say…"<em>

* * *

><p>Ward arrived in the team quarters' common room with Coulson and Skye. Everyone else was in there chilling out. They all stood as they saw Ward walk in with the Director and Skye.<p>

"Ward?" Fitz asked. "You're here?"

"You're back?" Simmons asked.

"Don't call me an ass!" Hunter exclaimed.

"You're still on that?" Bobbi asked.

"Yes."

Ward rolled his eyes and stepped towards the team, "Yep. I kept my promise, didn't I?"

"Give or take about four years." Skye chimed in.

"I know that Skye." Ward stated.

"So, what did you do?" Triplett asked.

"Traveled. Found my sister and stayed with her a while." Ward replied. "Then traveled again."

"How was your sister?" May asked.

"Considering that I haven't seen her in a long time, good. Did you know that I'm an uncle?"

Skye looked at him, "Really?" she asked.

Ward nodded, "Yep, a niece. Her name's Lily."

"Seems like you really like her." Mack commented.

"Aw, Grant's good with kids." Skye joked.

"Shut it, Skye." Ward mumbled.

"Just saying."

Coulson turned to Ward, "So, did you finally figure it out?" he asked.

Ward raised an eyebrow, "Figure out what?"

"Who you really are." Coulson replied. "Did you finally figure out who you really are?"

Ward sighed, "Honestly, not really." he said. "I never really stopped and thought about that, I was always moving."

Coulson nodded slightly, "So, what are you going to do now?" he asked. "My offer still stands to this day. You can still stay here with us. You can still work with us again. What do you say?"

Ward looked around at the smiling faces at his old team, with the exception of Hunter who was still scowling. He sighed, "Sure, I'll stay. I still don't have anywhere to go. I have no home. My only family is my sister and my bastard, imprisoned brother."

Skye smiled, "You're wrong, Grant. This is your home now. And we're your one, big, misfit family. There's still some kinks to work out, some kinks that will take a long time to finally unravel. But we're still your family."

Ward smiled.

"So," Coulson began. "You're staying?"

Ward nodded, "Yes."

"And you're not going to leave in the middle of the night again, are you?" Fitz asked.

Ward shook his head, "No, I'm not."

Coulson smiled, "Then welcome back, Ward. Just don't leave us again." He started to walk off, "I'll find you a room you can stay in."

Triplett walked by with a smile, "Nice to see you back." he said.

So did Mack. "I guess it's good to see you."

Ward nodded.

May walked by as well, "Don't think about betraying us again." she said coldly.

Ward didn't say anything in response.

Fitzsimmons both sat back down on one of the couches and returned to whatever they had been watching when Ward had come in.

Skye stood beside Ward, "So, you're here to stay." she said.

"As long as nothing weird happens."

"Look, there's no Hydra. Coulson's no longer crazy. There's no big threats other than random villains. I think that we're good for a while." Skye said. "There's nothing that will break this team apart now."

"I hope so."

Skye looked up at him and smiled, "I missed you, you know." she said.  
>"I did too." Ward replied. "Every single day."<p>

"You thought about me that much?" Skye asked, blushing.

"Well, I, uh, not just you. The entire team as well." Ward stammered, flustered.

"I know that it was mostly me." Skye joked. She pulled Ward down into a kiss.

"Oi! Get a room!" Hunter exclaimed, laughing.

Skye and Ward separated, Ward's faces turning red.

"Are you now Rudolph?" Hunter asked.

"You're comparing him to a fictional reindeer?" Simmons asked.

"Well then." Fitz stated.

Ward shot the Brit a harsh glare.

"Never mind."

Skye started to walk off, "See, he's warming up to you." she laughed.

"I am not!" Hunter protested.

"Stop whining." Bobbi said.

"Sorry."

Ward heard Simmons laugh as he rolled his eyes. He looked at the five agents, Triplett, Mack, May, and Coulson not included. He smiled softly. He may hadn't found out who he really was, but possibly he could now. He had the support. He had a home. He had a family. Those were things he really never had before.

Ward had them once for a short while, but he threw those things out the window when he followed Garrett.

"Grant, sit down by me!" Skye called.

Ward nodded and walked over to the small couch Skye was on, dropping his bag. He sat down beside her and she scooted close to him.

Ward smiled. He was truly home.

* * *

><p>"<em>Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more."<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>-END-<em>**

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><p><strong><em>Author's<em> Note:** I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Song is 'Carry On My Wayward Son' by Kansas. End of story! But don't worry, there's a sequel to come if you guys want it! There's more to Ward's story of what he did for the past 3.5 years. There's another story to be told of a shadow watching over the fledgling SHIELD. A shadow doing whatever it takes to protect the innocent, even if it involves hurting those who impede its progress. How does it sound? Please leave a review and tell me if you want the sequel! I hoped that you enjoyed this fic! Please review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	19. Chapter 19 (Sequel!)

_**The sequel, "Vigilance of the Soul", is now up! Check it out!**_


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